


Tony Stark's Flying Circus

by EverFascinated



Series: The Stark Spectaculaire [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, FrostIron - Freeform, M/M, Really AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-25
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-17 00:01:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 34,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/545278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverFascinated/pseuds/EverFascinated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Stark Spectaculaire's world famous troupe is embarking on their first European tour. However, with the search for Bucky's Bucking Broncos now underway and a possible family reunion for the troupe's European brother's, Tony's beginning to wonder if the whole trip is more trouble than its worth. But with Loki at his side, the ringmaster is more than ready to get this show on the road!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Sky's the Limit

Blue sky stretched as far as he could see, curving down until it reached the deeper blue of the ocean that sprawled beneath them. Only the faintest wisps of cloud were visible and even then it was only when you looked back at the slowly disappearing coastline behind the ship.

Tony breathed in the crisp ocean air as he leaned his chair back, kicking his feet up carelessly onto the control panel in front of him and sipping on his small glass of scotch on the rocks.

“Hey, watch it, Tony!” A switch was hastily flicked to turn off the copilot's half of the steering. Rhodey was completely unamused with Tony's lackadaisical and unapologetic smile, presenting him with a flat look before shaking his head and continuing to monitor the ship's maiden voyage. But it seemed he couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face as he looked out over the Atlantic, gripping the wheel a little more securely as if to ground himself in this wonderful moment.

Tony gave a small snort at his friend's behavior. “So, what? It's not like JARVIS will let any unintentional commands go through anyway. Hell, the only reason you've got control right now is because you _asked_ for it! We don't need to be up here until we try out the speed system.” The high-tech engineer seemed almost giddy at the prospects of testing out the new system for the first time, sharing a smile with Rhodey as they both imagined how it would go for one beautifully quiet moment.

That moment was broken by a posh, slightly mechanical voice. “Sir, the testing won't be able to begin until the ship is at least seventy-five miles off of the coast, due t-”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I was the one who designed it, remember?” Tony cut JARVIS off with a roll of his eyes. “How long do we have until then?”

The question was obviously anticipated, not even a hitch for calculation before the quick reply, “About an hour with the current head wind, Sir.”

The inventor sighed at the long wait. He debated whether or not to stay in the cockpit for a moment before his musings were interrupted by a buzzing noise.

“Sir, Doctor Banner is asking for you.”

Tony's brow furrowed for a split second, wondering what the other man might have to talk about so soon after departure. “Alright, go ahead and patch him through.” Hopefully it wouldn't be about his fugitive status again.

“He says he would like to speak to you in private if at all possible, Sir. He is currently tending to a frightened lion.”

Tony winced. “Wouldn't it be safer for him to come to me?” Whining was not in Tony's vocabulary, but he employed it skillfully none the less, not thrilled at the prospect of having to deal with a scared cat. His complaints halted for a second to laugh at that thought, 'Bruce has a scaredy cat.'

“He would be required to bring the animal with him, Sir, if that is what you wish.” JARVIS sounded amused at the prospect.

Childish thoughts were swept aside. There was no way an out of sorts wild cat was scratching up his baby. “Does he need to ask me something about the cat? He does know that he's the expert here, right?”

A few seconds passed as the AI relayed the question before answering, “No, Sir. The lion simply can't be left alone in its current state. Doctor Banner has requested that he be allowed to speak with you privately about the matter in question.”

Shrugging and swinging his feet to the floor, Tony set his glass down next to Rhodey before making his way out of the brass doorway. It wasn't like he had anything better to do and he was always more than willing to speak to his partner in science.

“Usually, I wouldn't condone others drinking and driving in my vehicles but, since JARVIS could do your job even with you actively attempting to crash, I'll let you finish that off for me.” A soft, double clang rang out as Tony rapped on the open cabin door affectionately and then stepped carefully over the raised edge of the doorway to find his scientific friend.

A quick glance back before he turned the next corner let him see Rhodey hesitantly lifting his feet up and placing them carefully on the panel in front of him to relax as Tony had, glass of scotch in his hand. The inventor gave a grin as he turned back around and kept moving forward. It wasn't every day that his best friend got the chance to pilot the most advanced airship ever made and Tony was glad that the other was finding time to enjoy it. A hand running across the wall next to him, Tony took a moment to simply appreciate the feel of another successful invention beneath his fingers.

It had taken over a year of testing and assembly, the process becoming even longer due to constant performances and traveling, but here it was. This beautiful red and gold master of the skies. It was an amalgamation of the best of both the typical airship and those aeroplanes that never really made it after the steam engine helped humanity take flight.

The rigid frame was supported both internally and externally by an alloy the inventor had created specifically for this purpose. Steel and aluminum mixed with a little bit of copper supported the inner workings and living spaces within the balloon while a sturdier version of the mixture secured the fabric for the high speeds they should be reaching once the aeroplane engines started up for the experiment. Those same bands that wrapped around the outside of the balloon also held those engines in their allotted places around the airship.

Awe and amazement had brought out quite the crowd as the troupe prepared for departure, traveling from New York to London before continuing on to the rest of the continent for their European tour. Reporters had flooded the site, snapping pictures and shouting questions to the busy crew as they loaded the radically designed airship with a seemingly impossible amount of props and animals.

This was mostly due to the fact that the visible part of the gondola was relatively small, not much bigger than their center ring really, but the living and storage areas were cleverly hidden within the balloon itself. It did make it harder to house enough helium to support it, but Tony was all about pushing the boundaries of physics. Though, the addition of multiple repulsors along the lower struts and beneath the gondola itself helped a lot in this case.

Either way, the airship was a marvel of engineering and, with the stylized Stark largely printed on either side, the world would know who built it. The decal was also added to help spread the word about their circus as they toured. The airship was much faster than their carts, especially when overcoming mountains, so it would be harder to send word ahead of where their next stop would be, but hopefully the eye catching balloon would bring in the crowds just as easily.

A light tremor ran through the metal beneath Tony's hand, one that wasn't quite in time with the usual rumble of the two large propellers that kept them moving forward against the wind. Pausing in his trek towards the next ladder, he waited to see if he felt it again.

When he only felt the usual rumblings, he tilted his head and pursed his lips slightly in thought. It was either an errant burst of wind or Clint had found the service vents and was now using them to creep around the balloon. Both the Hawk and Natasha had quickly loaded their items and promptly vanished into the airship while the others were still loading the rest of the animals. Neither had been seen since.

Ever the perfect organizer, Pepper had explained that the two had mentioned plans of training in a storage area to help their act reach new heights, but Rhodey was convinced that Clint was simply locked in his room taking a nap. Tony knew that Hawkeye could sleep anywhere, but he would bet money that they weren't sleeping if they were both locked in their cabin.

Unable to decide which of these was more likely, the ringmaster simply shrugged before straightening his new showman's jacket and continuing down to the corner of the metal gangplank. Pepper had recently stolen his cape and refused to give it back, so Tony had traded his usual waistcoat for a red and gold, double breasted jacket with some marvelous coattails that ended at his knees to make up for the loss. The fact that the shorter garment added benefit of not tripping him up in these unusually tight spaces was also a plus.

Not much further down the corridor, Tony started hearing an excited and slightly exasperated female voice coming from an open cabin.

“But, don’t you see? This is a huge step forward in the engineering of airships /everywhere/! This could revolutionize the world! If this technology is successful shipping and travel will become that much faster, not to mention the other socioeconomic benefits!” Pausing at the door, the inventor leaned against the jam to listen to what the stargazer had to say.

Jane Foster was seated at her small desk talking animatedly to her significant other while her best friend lay on the upper bunk, listening to a softly playing record and wiggling a little as if trying to dance without sitting up. He couldn't see the lively brunet's face from where he was standing, but Tony was sure Darcy had heard this all at least once before and was most likely ignoring the current lecture. Both of the girls worked with one of his main consultants for this venture, an engineer and professor at the college, Dr. Erik Selvig, which meant that the reclining girl probably knew even more than Jane was even going to attempt to explain.

“I still do not understand how this airship is superior to any other, Lady Jane.” Thor sounded confused by his girlfriend’s passion for the subject, but the astronomer seemed more than willing to explain it to her captive audience.

“Most airships of this size have to run off of hydrogen, which is highly flammable and not recommended, or super-heated helium from the new steam engine technology. Both of those can’t hold cargo of this magnitude without being _twice_ this size.”

“And the only airships that big are war ships,” Darcy, Jane’s best friend and tarot reader for the circus chimed in – apparently she was listening after all.

Used to these interruptions after she had taken the younger girl under her wing, the circus’ mystic plowed on, “Not to mention the fact that a significant part of the balloon is filled with normal air and metal plated rooms.” Jane shook her head in amazement as she looked around her quarters once again, missing Tony standing behind the seated couple when she stopped to smile at Thor. “If only Professor Selvig could be here with us. He would have loved this.”

The mention of the Professor reminded Tony of his meeting with Bruce. Troubles with passports and warrants had prevented Dr. Selvig from joining them on this particular venture, but he was promised a first class trip once the troupe made it back to New York.

Tony smoothly pushed away from the wall to continue walking down the hall, leaving his eavesdropping for another time. The trio he left behind, now chatting about what to do first in London, were going to be together for the entire trip, unlike usual.

The girls were usually stationed at the New York station so that they could still attend (or teach, in Jane's case) classes at the college and perform at the weekend carnivals that Stark Industries put together each weekend. But they jumped at the opportunity to join them as their fortune tellers for this voyage across the sea, eager to broaden their horizons. Thor had been over the moon when he heard that, not only was he going back to Europe with the rest of the troupe and his brother, but his Lady Jane would be accompanying him as well! More than willing to let the strongman believe that it was for this was for his benefit, Tony hadn't corrected him.

Soon, the ringleader reached the large animal containment area that was built for both the large trained cats as well as the horses that comprised the finale of every show in the big top.

“Tony!” Just spotting his boss moving through the 'stables', Cap dropped the brush he was grooming one of the horses with to trot over to him with an excited grin on his face. Tony looked up expectantly and the horse trainer continued, “I just wanted to thank you again, for all of this. I know you said that you would help me find the Broncos after I woke up, and I never doubted that you would, but this goes above and beyond any expectations that I had! To fly us all over to search for my lost-”

Tony cut off the lines he’d heard more than once since he announced they’d be touring over in Europe. “Hey, I promised you that we’d find them if they didn’t find you first, alright? I’m just glad you didn’t try to head off after Bucky and the gang before I could get this beauty up and running. Besides,” he gave the taller man a pat on the shoulder as he moved to step past him. “I’ve always wanted to bring the _Stark Spectaculaire_ to the poor, uncultured masses across the Atlantic.”

A hand on his arm had him turning back and looking up to meet the trick rider-turned-clown’s blue eyes. “But you didn’t have to, Tony. So, let me thank you. It really means a lot to me.”

Cap looked like he was about to shed a tear or two and, for once, the ringleader let it go without comment. Instead, he just gave the taller man a small nod of acceptance before moving on to the louder half of the pens, glancing at the large room's nervously shifting horses and yowling cats as he walked. While winding through the metal cages Tony took note of which cats were napping and which were loudly pacing their areas as he did. He found it unsurprising that the ones that were participating in Bruce’s continued experiments were those that were calmly accepting their new, airborne positions.

It really spoke to the doctor’s expertise with both chemistry and biology as some of these felines had only been exposed to the compound for about three months and they were already seeing improvements. It was also impressive just how far Bruce has taken his research in the past four years, especially when he was still technically on the run from his previous employers.

Moving through the cages as if they were zoo exhibits, Tony thought back to Bruce's explanation of his current research. When he had been hired by the Tesser Corporation, they had told Bruce to formulate a drug to better train any animal. The doctor was lead to believe that the company was trying to find a drug that would improve thought process and memory when they were actually trying to develop one that enabled greater suggestibility, to the point of mind control.

Immediately after finding that out, Dr. Banner had shut down his lab, collected all of the related notes, and destroyed all evidence of his last three years of advances. He then started running after the company branding him a dangerous madman. Only his fiancé knew the truth, but Bruce had left Betty behind for her own safety. It was shortly after his escape that he realized that this wouldn’t stop the corporation completely - there had been other scientists working with him who still knew the results of the experiments - so he began working to counter it.

Tony stopped and peered in at a sleeping wildcat whose fur was turning gray in places. According to Bruce, this was the first one to really test his compound.

The experiments had started with mice, but getting clean ones on the road was a long process and they escaped easily. Even hopeless and hunted, he kept trying, making progress from the few that he was able to keep through his travels. This cat, however, had found the scientist one night as a cub and hadn’t left him since. Of course, Bruce hadn't realized exactly which species it was when he first adopted the kitten, but quickly came to that realization when it grew to the size of a dog.

Always cautious, he had only started feeding the chemicals to the cat after successfully testing it on a particularly hardy mouse. It just so happened that the training he was giving it was more easily explained when he introduced himself as a beast tamer. He was probably the only lion tamer who had accidentally taken the job.

Footsteps approached from behind him and Tony turned to face the man who summoned him up here with a grin. “Brucie!”

While the wildcat gave a toothy yawn, the ringmaster’s smile fell into a frown. He knew the look on Bruce’s face - tense and worried as he removed his glasses to rub at his eyes. That was the same look he had worn when Tony had cornered him that first time they’d met, still worried that he was going to be turned in to the police. The ringmaster had offered him a home instead.

Placing his free hand on his hip, Bruce stood and rubbed at his brow in a nervous gesture, glasses swinging as if trying to massage away a headache back. Tony’s eyes were drawn to the crumpled papers that stuck out of the other man’s pocket, currently trying to escape the confines of the black pants they were stuffed into.

Quickly realizing what had caught the inventor’s attention, Bruce pulled the letter out and attempted to smooth the wrinkles out a little before handing it over. “Here, take a look.”

A quick adjustment to his tinted spectacles later and Tony was speed reading his way through the missive, important information beginning to scroll across the top of the lenses as he did so. The cat wrangler gave an aggravated sigh and turned to start pacing, feeling as trapped as his more skittish animals currently did. Sensing the mood, the wildcat lifted its head and started watching its trainer. Tony distantly noticed that many of the other nearby cats were behaving similarly.

As if needing to have Tony understand faster, Bruce summarized the letter aloud, “They aren’t operating in America anymore, Tony. They moved it almost three _years_ ago, now. Even though they left quite a bit of their company here and are still looking for me, they’ve been in Europe.”

He ran his fingers through his hair as Tony finished the letter, continuing, “You have to take me back, there is no way that they won’t get word of a man who controls wild cats as easily as I do. They'll investigate just to try and steal from what the company will view as 'the competition'.” Hazel eyes looking a bit more green than usual in this light, Bruce stared at his boss, trying to convey how serious this was.

Tony just snorted as he held Betty’s letter back out to her beau. “After all that convincing I had to do to convince Dr. Selvig to let you use his passport? I don’t think so. Ah, ah,” he held up a hand to stop his protests. “No. It's been five years since you escaped. Why would they ever think you, renowned scientist and fugitive, would ever join a circus?” Tony raised his brow at the frowning doctor.

“You never expressed any interest in it before. Hell, you wouldn't even be here now if you didn't have to. That’s why you wear a mask and use a stage name. Also, you do realize that not showing up might be just as much of a tip off as going through with it, right?”

The biologist stilled, locking eyes with the quietly watching wildcat, obviously thinking over the implications of actually getting what he wanted.

Acknowledging the fact that his friend needed a moment, Tony instructed JARVIS to start scanning the radio waves for news on the Tesser Corporation and its movements in Europe. Apparently there was quite a lot of information; their main base was located in the south western part of Germany but they had many locations across the continent and were making connections with many up and coming businesses.

Information kept scrolling, but Tony caught Bruce relaxing out of the corner of his eye. Ordering the AI to put that all in a file for him to go through later, Tony turned back to his science buddy. Both the wildcat and Bruce were still holding their staring contest, but the man seemed much calmer now. The cat looked away first, going back to its nap, and the fugitive looked back at Tony.

“You are going to take precautions. No seeking out trouble while they’re lurking just around the corner and you’re still taking those pills, no objections. They might go after big names like yours.”

Brilliant grin flashing in the lamplight, Tony gestured to himself as he replied incredulously. “Please, I’m always careful.” Bruce took a moment after replacing his glasses to give the other man an unconvinced look over the rims, but there was a smile lingering around his lips as he did so.

Relenting, Tony waved his hand. “Alright, so maybe just a _majority_ of the time.” That was as good as Bruce was going to get, he realized, even as he shook his head fondly at Tony’s antics.

“I’m serious, Tony. Watch out for these guys. They have no qualms when it comes to taking lives.” Another hard look accompanied this warning before Bruce turned, looking towards a particularly loud roar.

He looked back at Tony apologetically only to have the ringmaster wave him off, “Go tend to your scaredy cats, Brucie. I’ve got this handled.”

The shorter man opened his mouth to deliver another warning, before giving another small sigh and turning to leave. Before he did, Bruce pointed behind the ringleader. “You might want to try leaving in that direction. Our goofballs have been a little too quiet lately. Go check and see if they’re up to something.” With that parting remark, he left Tony contemplating whether or not he would take the other man’s advice.

Looking at the time, he decided to go ahead and take a look; he had a little bit more time to waste before he had to get back to monitor the experiment for the cockpit. Unfortunately, it probably wasn't enough time to successfully locate Loki and get back up front, so Tony would have to settle with the dynamic duet.

It didn’t take him long to find upon the pair he was looking for; tucked away behind some spare crates in a cage in the back, a sleek black jaguar lay pawing at the polished legs of a spiderlike construct. Dummy was keeping his friend entertained while the jungle cat was trapped in its enclosure, much like he had been doing for the past ten months.

The Jag’s tail twitched lazily when it looked over at the ringmaster, but went back to lackadaisically swiping at Dummy’s legs as the robot tapped two of them on the ground between them in a randomized pattern.

Knuckles rapping out a short counterpoint to the tapping, Tony complained jokingly when the robot turned his optics towards his creator, “You spend more time with him then you do at the lab. Am I going to have to build a replacement for you just so I don't get lonely while I work?”

Tony jumped as a smooth, accented voice answered his question.

“Only you would feel lonely in the middle of a circus, _Monsieur_.” Ever a picture of effortless elegance, Loki was leaning lightly on a cage cater-corner to The Jag's.

Taking a moment to enjoy the way black leather pants outlined the other man’s legs, currently crossed at the ankle, and how he could see a bit more pale flesh then usual through the loose ties of the green shirt, Tony didn’t even try to hold back his leering smile.

“I’m never lonely when you’re around, Sunshine.”

Loki gave a coy half smile at the compliment, letting his eyes trail over the engineer’s body as the other walked over to him. “Is that so? Well, you are lucky that I find your so presence enjoyable then.”

“Lucky? I’ll have you know that this is raw talent and skill, no luck involved,” came the snarky reply. Tony must have walked right by the magician when he arrived; he wasn't sure how that was possible with the way Loki always held his attention.

Trailing his fingers affectionately down the curve of Loki's face to his jaw, Tony felt its movement as the other spoke once more, “Is that what you call it, _Monsieur_?”

Tony's face was perfectly serious as he answered frankly, “Yes.” This was followed by a relatively quick, but thoroughly enjoyable kiss. Not allowing himself to become distracted, especially when he had started it, Tony pulled back to look the now smirking man in the eyes. “Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

Confusion met Tony's concerned request, Loki’s brow furrowing slightly as he tried to figure out where the question had come from. As short pause stretched, The Jag took the opportunity to finally pin down one of Dummy’s legs to give it a tongue bath before the magician responded.

“What makes you think that something is wrong?” Though he hid it well, Tony could tell Loki was a bit impressed at his perceptiveness and maybe a bit curious about how he had figured out something was bothering Loki in the first place.

With a breath of air that might have been the beginning of a laugh if it had more energy behind it, Tony looked amused by this as he answered. “You thought I wouldn’t notice? They don’t call me a genius for nothing, Sunshine.”

Loki turned his head sharply a few degrees to the left while narrowing his eyes at the brunet as he gave a sharp smirk. “Not all geniuses are terribly observant and I never liked making assumptions. So, what exactly do you think you have noticed _Monsieur_?”

Tony gave a grand gesture to the room at large, ending with his hand pointed at the now napping (possibly cuddling, if the purring and gentle whistles were anything to go by) pair behind him.

“That lately you’ve been coming to visit the odd couple when you want to think. And, here you are. So,” bars creaked as Tony leaned casually against the cage across from the magician, but his sharp eyes never left the other man’s face, betraying his concern. “What’s going on in that magnificent head of yours?”

Loki held that gaze for a moment before looking away without answering the question, lips pressed together. As if unable to keep still as his mind worked, the elegant man twisted and pulled at the rings that adorned his hands.

It served a dual purpose, distracting Tony nicely while giving the magician something to do. Tony wasn't fooled, but lowered his eyes to the jewelry none the less, hoping to catch some new insights into what each of the multifunctional rings did.

He had discovered the properties of only four of the rings that Loki used to perform his magic tricks so far, not bad if the five that he had seen originally completed the collection. Unfortunately, Tony had seen at least four different rings, worn both along and interchangeably with the others. The ringmaster was beginning to believe that there were even a few red herrings slipped in there and that this guessing game might go on forever, especially if Loki was still making them as Tony suspected. He wasn't going to complain, he wasn't going to want to let Loki go anytime soon anyway, this just added another layer of excitement to their interactions.

So far he had figured out the case's ring, which the trickster had given away purposefully, a pair that acted as flint and steel (possibly having a different ability hidden on the opposite sides or within each, but Tony couldn't be sure), and one that unfolded into an incredibly useful set of lock picks when removed and bent apart.

That last set had actually inspired him to make a set of his own picks that fit around the lenses of his spectacles. It also challenged him to make some better locks. So far, Loki was winning, more often inside of places they were going to meet than waiting outside like he should have been. Tony suspected that JARVIS had something to do with these unauthorized entries sometimes as well.

Clicking was coming from the one he was currently twisting Tony noted, shifting a bit to get a better look. The noise abruptly cut off when Loki gave in and voiced his concerns.

“I am unused to second guessing my decisions, but now that we are finally in the air, I find I am unable to stop myself from doing so.” He met Tony's understanding gaze, looking like he needed reassurance. “Returning home, is it really something I can still do? After running so foolishly before and refusing to go back?” He then turned away frowning slightly, as if angry at himself for saying so much, for letting his fears be known.

It tore Tony up inside to hear Loki's doubt – listening to his voice trail off to a whisper when he thought of how he wanted to go home, the cracks telling of how afraid he was to try for fear of rejection. Though, in the back of his mind, he celebrated the fact that the magician would even be this open with him. They had shared many a night together over the past months and Tony wasn't known for being quiet at the best of times.

But while he had eventually covered almost all topics of note in his past, Loki had only spoke when he had a similar experience to relate. Tony's had ranged from his ever working father - Howard who was always present but never there, to Stane - the father figure who had betrayed him in so many ways, to the fact that there was still someone who wanted his advanced inventions and the power source that was left to him by his late father or, barring that, wanted his death.

In return, Loki had traded his own experiences with authority figures - a man who was a businessman first, father second, betrayal - a town that believed the lies of a suspicions man who'd been proved wrong many times before, and ongoing threats - Laufey wasn't known for forgiveness. The rest of his past remained a mystery, but the fact that the other thought he could confide in Tony was heartening as well as heartbreaking.

“Loki,” the rest of the sentence didn't want to come, so instead Tony uncrossed his arms, holding one partially up in the magician's direction and waving him closer. “Come here.”

Loki, apparently too caught up in his own thoughts to process what the other man wanted, gave a small grunt in surprise when callused hands reached out and pulled him across the narrow gap and into Tony's embrace. A moment passed, Loki stiff in the engineer's arms, before raised his own to return the hug.

“If you don't want to see them, we don't have to. It's that easy,” Tony murmured reassuringly, holding him tight. Pulling back a second later, but still keeping him in his grasp, the ringmaster met Loki's eyes once more. “We could easily skip traveling to the Scandinavian countries and just tour the rest of the continent to look for the Bucking Broncos. But, if you think even that is too close, just tell me. I will turn this ship south and we'll tour Central and South America instead.”

“But, Mister Rog-” The inventor cut off Loki's surprised protest easily.

“Steve is, amazingly, an extremely nice guy. Shocking, I know. But, that means he'll understand if I tell him we'll have to put off the search for a little while longer.” Winding a hand through the magician's neat black hair, Tony pressed their foreheads together gently. “It isn't a sin to change your mind, Sunshine. No one is forcing you to visit your parents; you are the only one who gets to make that choice.”

That got him one of those slow, yet magnificently warm, brilliant smiles in return, the sunrise smiles that Tony had nicknamed him for, not that anyone else had to know that. (In fact, their whole relationship was pretty much an open secret within the troupe. They hadn't come right out and told anyone, but a majority of them suspected something was going on.)

Loki gave a chuckle and remarked, “We seem to be having these types of conversations quite often, you realize.”

“Eight months since our last one after Stane, and you call it quite often,” Tony observed, snorting. “You might want to revise your definition there, Sunshine. I hear that most couples have these touching moments at least once a month. Judging by the others in the troupe, we are either way behind or incredibly advanced.” Tony received a wicked smirk in return.

“I know which option I prefer. But we could try to catch up, if you would rather. I can think of _something_ rather touching, _Monsieur_.”

Tony couldn't resist that daring smirk, especially when Loki chose that moment to slowly wet his lips with his tongue. “You just read my mind.”

Tilting his head for a better position, Tony pulled the magician in easily for another kiss. This one threw 'quick' out the window, each participant taking their time and enjoying the other man's presence before Tony inevitably grew impatient. Loki smirked into the kiss, always enjoying the fact that he was usually the 'winner' of this game, and then allowed the inventor's tongue entrance.

It was around this time that Tony's hand found the spot it was looking for, brushing across a few ribs to start running short fingernails along the magician's spine underneath the hiked up green shirt. Pressing in to the kiss as he groaned lowly at the sensation, Loki moved even closer, crowding the businessman against the empty cage behind him.

He cursed quietly as he fought with the buckles running up the showman's jacket just off center, grumbling under his breath about how Tony should have taken time to dress more casually after departure.

Chuckling lowly, Tony abandoned his hold on the other man's head to still the hands working at his jacket.

“Leave it for now, Sunshine. I still have to start up that experiment-” he cut off with a groan as teeth grazed his neck, nipping below his ear, only just light enough to be called gentle. He released the other man's hands to wind his fingers back through Loki's previously mussed hair even as his nails scraped long raised marks along the other's back, forgetting what he was trying to say.

Hands free to start again, Loki finished undoing the last of the golden buckles and pushed open the red jacket to move his hands against the wonderfully familiar body hidden underneath the shirt and vest that were now exposed. They would come next, Tony vaguely noted while the rest of his mind focused on the sensations the wonderful man in front of him was bestowing upon his body, but for now Loki seemed satisfied with simply enjoying the varied noises and reactions he could pull from Tony with some light touches and a few well-placed strokes of his tongue.

It was a good thing the engineer was confident that the yowling cats would cover their activities or else he might have been embarrassed at the moans that were teased from his throat. Distantly, in a small, far off part of his mind that could still think rationally under Loki's assault, Tony wondered why the odd couple in the cage a few yards away weren't protesting as much as they usually did. He pushed that thought away even further and decided to simply enjoy the moment while it lasted.

Tugging lightly at the magician's hair, Tony pulled Loki back up from his neck to claim that wickedly talented mouth with his own once again, easily taking control of the kiss. Tony opened his eyes again a moment later only to jump slightly then wince as his head hit the brass bars he was still leaning against.

“That was completely uncalled for, JARVIS.”

“I do apologize, Sir, but Mister Rhodes is threatening to start the next stage without you if you do not return to the cockpit in the next five minutes.”

Obviously realizing that their fun was postponed now that Tony had been returned to his previous train of thought, Loki removed his hands and began buckling the jacket once more.

Dealing with the cacophony of flashing lights and symbols on his spectacles, Tony looked down and attempted to assist Loki, only to have his hands pushed away.

“I could do it on my own, you know. I do have a bit of experience dressing myself, having done it every morning for quite some time.” Tony raised his brow, but didn't try to help again. Instead, he returned the favor by trying to finger-comb Loki's hair in to something like his usual style. He received an amused look for his trouble.

Finished with the clasps, Loki smirked as he ran a hand down the ringmaster's neck, “I had forgotten that this jacket does not possess the high collar your previous one had. I am afraid these marks will not be hidden so easily.”

He didn't look sorry in the least but, right at that moment, Tony wasn't too worried about it. His womanizing reputation had taken quite the hit over the past year or so, these bruises would have the gossips going for at least a week, wondering who it might have been.

Tony grinned, hoping they'd try to pin it on Rhodey again because that last time was hilarious.

“Don't worry about it, Sunshine.” He leaned forward to press one last kiss to those slightly swollen lips. “I have to go do science right now and you are more than welcome to join me.”

The sultry grin he received in response made his heart rate jump. “I would rather experience how it feels from the comfort of your bed.” Loki lured him into a steamy kiss before pulling away and walking towards the exit.

“If you are _lucky_ , you may just find me there once you have finished with your experiment, _Monsieur_.”

With that parting remark, the magician disappeared down the ladder leading to the residential quarters. Tony would have stood there for a moment if JARVIS hadn't spoken up, “Two minutes and counting, Sir.”

“Damn it, tell him to wait! I'm on my way!” He started jogging to the other exit that was a fair bit closer to the cockpit, “How far out are we, anyway?”

“Over eighty-one miles at the moment, Sir. I tried to get your attention once we hit the seventy-five mile marker, but it seems as though you were indisposed.” Tony rolled his eyes at the AI's tone.

“You know, I don't recall programing either you or Dummy for sass.”

Dry as the Sahara, JARVIS returned, “You programmed us to learn, Sir, and we have learned from the best.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony slid down another the last ladder and started jogging down the metal grates towards the front.

Stepping back over the threshold to the cockpit, Tony went straight to business. “You better not have started the party without me, Rhodey!”

There wasn't a shred of laughter in the flat look the human cannonball shot his way. “You didn't teach me what any of those buttons did. If you hadn't come back in time I would have started guessing.” Rhodey wasn't joking. Tony could see that the human cannonball knew that it was a safe bet - any correct guesses would begin the process and any wrong ones would be stopped by JARVIS.

“See, and that is why I can't allow you to have nice things.” Between flipping switches, turning dials, and moving slides to prepare the jump, Tony took a moment to press some of his buddy's buttons as well. Another moment, filled with clicking and an eye roll from Rhodey, and they were ready to go.

“Alright, let's do this properly, JARVIS. It is June first, Eighteen sixty-nine. We are starting the first test, at exactly four oh four in the afternoon, at my mark. Three, two, one, mark.”

Pressing an innocuous button vaguely to the left of center on the panel, none of the symbols there made any sense to Rhodey when he had inspected it before so he was going to go by location, Tony gave a grin as he heard the engines start to rev.

“Come on, baby. Don't disappoint me now.”

Rhodey braced himself against the seat, but looked a bit disappointed when they only felt a slight pull of the acceleration from the changing speed. A few seconds later the sound died down to a constant drone and the 'pilot' looked around incredulously.

“That's it?”

Tony looked personally insulted by the question. “'That's it?' Of course that's it! No one would want to use it if they had to constantly feel the speed pressing down on them during the acceleration process and once you've reached that speed, you can't feel the acceleration because the speed is constant! We aren't flying into space, Rhodey, just reaching higher speeds than most airships can. That doesn't change the essence of flying itself, just the way we go about it.”

A disbelieving huff of air came from the inventor as he shook his head at the other's wild imagination and pointed to the speedometer on Rhodey's console. “Fine. See for yourself, oh nonbeliever.”

Even after enduring all of that science babble which had just been thrown at him explaining the physics behind it quite clearly, Rhodey still gaped at the number the meter displayed. “Two hundred and twenty miles an hour?! That's a hundred more than Andrews got with his unmanned balloon got a few years ago! At this rate we'll be there by-”

Tony cut in as his friend scrambled to try and calculate their arrival time. “By eight tomorrow morning, after we slow back down for those last seventy-five miles.” He was increasingly smug as he continued, “That will make our total flight time about seventeen hours, blowing the last record for air travel from New York to London of thirty five hours clear out of the water!” The excitement was catching soon the two of them were grinning like loons at one another.

“This is absolutely fantastic, Tony. I can see why you've been calling it an engineering marvel now!”

A white wisp flew past the window as the airship tore through the skies and Tony watched it drift past as he thought about commenting that it had always been a marvel, before letting the comment slide. He had more important things to attend to now that his experiment had started and was running successfully.

“You don't have to stay up here if you don't want to, though you are welcome to stay. JARVIS will keep an eye on it until morning.”

Rhodey turned away from the amazing view out the front windows to give the inventor a confused look. “After all of that, you're leaving already?”

“Yep. It was really hot up with those animals, so I'm going to head up to my room and get out of these show clothes. After that I'm probably going to head to the lab to finish up that radio earpiece I've been working on.” Gesturing to his clothes as he said this, Tony started to walk away with a smile. He'd always enjoyed blending the truth to himself.

“Have fun!”

Tony narrowed his eyes at Rhodey's smirk before catching the other's glance at his neck. He nearly rolled his eyes before returning with a leer, knowing that it would make the other wary of possibly becoming the target of those rumors once again. The ringmaster had endured many a lecture about how hard it was to get a date when all the girls thought the dark skinned man was dating Tony Stark.

Both he and Loki had been rather quiet about it so far, especially when out in public, but he was sure their close friends could see how much happier they were together; Tony himself had never been as productive and excited to _be_ productive before those hickeys started showing up just under his collar.

Down the hall and taking a slightly different route then last time to avoid any possibility of running in to Thor or his excited girlfriend, Tony made his way easily back up the ladder to the residential area and over to open his door.

The bed was mussed but, sadly, empty. He let out a small sigh of disappointment as he kicked the door closed behind him only to smirk as he heard the lock click shut.

“Would you like assistance getting out of your clothes, _Monsieur_?” Skilled hands toyed with the buckles on the jacket.

Tony grinned as he unfastened the jacket easily, shrugging it off and tossing it aside before grabbing the hands that were wandering across his chest and undoing the buttons on his vest. Turning, the engineer easily switched his grip to pin Loki back against the metal door.

He took the chance to lavish a few open mouthed kisses on the magician's bare neck before releasing those pale wrists to run his hands down Loki's naked chest, murmuring, “How could I say no when you ask so nicely, Sunshine?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again with the second installment of this crazy idea. Thanks once again to thinkofthegunstheysell for the wonderful prompt, I have loved every second of this story! I hope you all find it just as enjoyable! :)


	2. Relations and Revelations

The journey to Tønsberg, Norway, was a relatively easy one, the flying circus having given their second performance in London the night before and flown the nearly seven hundred miles through the night while most of them were sleeping. Tony would appreciate the landscape as they landed close to the oldest settlement in Norway, but the view from the storage room turned lab wasn't the greatest. He wasn't complaining, he was there for the company anyway.

“Are you sure you're fine?”

Snapping shut the portable workstation he was sitting at to keep the other from seeing what he was tinkering with (surprises made the discoveries that much more fun), Loki sat back to give the engineer a fond look. His response was tinged with exasperation as he answered the question once more.

“ _Yes_ , Anthony. I may have second guessed my decision once, but I take care to never make the same mistakes twice. I stand by my decision - I will be meeting with my parents and you will be joining me. Honestly, _Monsieur_. I am beginning to believe that you are more nervous about this reunion than I have ever been.” Loki sounded far too amused by that as he flicked the locks on the case closed and stood to make his way over to were Tony was trying to peer out at the scenery through the 'port hole' installed in the wall of the room.

Loki pulled on the other's arm, dragging him into a standing position and looking him in the eye. “You are going to do just as well as you keep insisting I will.”

Offering the other a grin, Tony remarked, “Don't you think it's a bit ironic that we have so much faith in each other but none in ourselves?”

As Loki gave the slightest shake of his head in disbelief (Tony's humorous defense mechanisms were in full effect), some hissing whistle-clicks had Tony leveling a flat look in Dummy's direction.

“There is no need to be pedantic.” Another beep had him making a face, “No, I did not mean _pun_ dantic! There is nothing funny about things made of iron being ironic!”

Fed up with all of this back talk, Tony ignored the magician's amused looks as he pointedly asked, “Why are you even up here anyway, aren't you supposed to be comforting The Jag?” Loki started playing with the inventor's lapels on his rather boringly normal suit jacket (not having a show planned for the night, Tony had dressed a bit more casually) as more hiss-clunks were given in response.

Rolling his eyes, Tony clarified, “No, I'm not making a replacement you, one is more than enough. Now, get out of here.”

After making sure the mech was on its way down the hall, Tony ran a hand down his goatee and tried to get them back on topic.

“Alright, so. Reunion for you, meet the parents for me. That's,” many words sprang to mind (great, horrifying, a step forward, way too soon, about time - wait, stop that) and Tony tried for diplomacy, “doable.” Loki clearly saw right through that pause and the crooked smile that accompanied it, but he gave Tony another smile before using those pressed lapels he'd been toying with to pull the ringmaster into a gentle kiss to show his appreciation at his attempt.

Tony allowed himself a long moment to enjoy it, carefully keeping his hands away from Loki's coat to prevent any unnecessary mussing, especially since they were planning to go out to meet the other man's parents presently. Then Tony asked the question that would require the most planning, depending on the answer.

“And you're _sure_ about Thor?” Tony had been sure to keep Jane in the loop and was more than willing to have her distract the strongman while he and Loki settled things.

Fingers twitching at being questioned once more, Loki almost crumpled a few wrinkles into Tony's jacket before he seemed to realize what he was doing and smoothed them back down.

After a moment, he looked satisfied with his adjustments and answered, “Yes, he can come as well. His presence will attract more attention from the city, but it will also pull attention off of myself.”

“As I said before, our father is still slightly upset with him as well and that will come in handy when I have to meet with them.” Grinning at the magician's dry, insulted tone (Loki obviously didn't enjoy being repeatedly questioned, but telling Thor no after telling him yes would be a nightmare), Tony reached up and pulled him in for another quick kiss before slipping around him and towards Thor's room to set the plans in motion.

“Alrighty then; one family reunion plus one coming right up. I'll let the others know they can explore the town until we all get back from the theater. Either Natasha or Clint will most likely follow us there just out of curiosity, you know that right?” Tony nearly tripped over the door frame as he turned to tell Loki this.

The native man just smiled knowingly, “Of course. It will be Lady Romanova, she can blend in more easily here. The Hawk would be far too conspicuous trying to hide up in his rafters.”

Tony hoped that Clint hadn't heard the challenge that his 'enemy' had just laid out for him.

It only took a short while to round up Thor, convincing him that taking his 'Lady Jane' when all of those crowds would be trying to vie for his attention wasn't the best idea, and get him to the ramp where Loki was waiting with a couple of horses for the short ride in to the city. Thor started trying to draw his quiet brother in to conversation and, while normally not totally against such things, Loki was apparently at the end of his patience, the surroundings and anecdotes no doubt bringing back some bad memories. Seeing that and acting quickly to prevent any fighting before the shindig even got off the ground, Tony spoke up.

“So, big guy. Tell me about your mom. I'd like to know a bit about the lady before I meet her, don't want to say anything terrible.” Tony really was a bit interested, but he knew where he stood. He listened with half an ear as Thor listed the virtues of his mother, Frigga, and watched as Loki started to relax again. It didn't matter how their mother and father treated him; Tony stood firmly beside the magician and, in a lesser sense, Thor.

They were both his employees, though Loki was far past that (Tony's mind wandered dangerously into the deep end whenever he started thinking about how he felt towards the magician and his logic threw it a life preserver before it could sink to far, dragging it back to the task at hand), and if they didn't want to stay they weren't going to.

His mind slipped from the flotation device when he thought about Loki choosing to stay here instead of coming back with him and his chest twinged slightly.

Rubbing at his medallion through his jacket, Tony continued to nod along as they passed in to the main part of town. Loki was leading them to their destination, but the ringmaster thought he saw the magician glancing back at him in the reflection of a window pane or two. He knew that the other man wasn't as confident about the outcome of this reunion as he was trying to convince the world he was, but Loki was doing a fantastic job of not letting it show, especially when the crowds gathered.

Odin's family was well known and well liked throughout the city, Thor especially. The louder son had many friends who came to greet him as they passed through to their destination, calling out to him from windows and alleys or even walking along side to try and catch up.

Loki had fewer people acknowledging him and a few of those were outright hostile, glaring at him even as they smiled at his brother. Making note of all who so much as sneezed wrong, Tony's smile held a sharp edge.

Not all of the people were doing this, there were even a few that got Loki to smile back, but when compared to the hero’s welcome Thor was receiving it was easy to see when people held back. Thor wasn't as unaware of this as some of those around them obviously believed. He earnestly tried to pull his younger brother in to the stories as well, portraying the darker brother with just as much glory as the townsfolk attributed to himself, but some villagers only heard what they wanted to hear.

Well, these people might not know who he was right now, out of his performer's gear and looking like nothing more than a well-dressed steward to the two men he was following, but that just made their reactions more genuine. JARVIS kept records of both faces and names when he could get them.

He might not have a lot of influence here, but there was always something that could be accomplished by throwing a lot of money around. He wasn't really doing anything with his personal funds anyway and investing discretely in those who treated his magician with common decency while subtly destroying those who had made Loki's life hell during his formative years here wouldn't be very hard, especially with JARVIS available to keep an eye on everything after they'd left.

Tony made a mental note to try and set up another remote site for the AI inside the town before he left, perhaps within the opera house itself if Frigga turned out to be the ally her letters to Loki made her out to be.

Soon enough, they reached the primary theater of Odin Borson, Asgard. The owner and his family still kept their residences above the opera house and a groomsman led their horses away to the opera's stables as Thor waved away the rest of the well-wishers, promising to talk to them after meeting with his family. They were led through the large wooden doors into one of the finest opera houses Tony had ever seen and, after looking everywhere for talent for his show, that was saying something.

A regal woman met them at the stairs and it was obvious who she was when she stopped for a moment to place a hand to her mouth, blinking furiously to keep herself from crying (largely ineffectual), before quickly moving down the last steps to hug her youngest son. Loki was shaking ever so slightly as he returned her embrace even as Thor beamed brightly behind him, looking happier to see the two reunited then he would have if he had received the welcome first.

“My son,” Frigga said, voice shaking as she pulled back to touch his face, needing reassurance that he was here, that this wasn't a dream. The watery smile she gave him only made her more agelessly beautiful in Tony's opinion, but he couldn't look away from the answering smile Loki gave her in return. Another hug was given before she turned to her eldest with open arms. “Both of my sons, home at last.”

Tony sidled up to Loki, whose smile still lingered. “See, that wasn't so bad.”

Worry lines between his brows deepening a touch, Loki's grin turned a little self-deprecating. “It was never her that I was worried about when it came to whether I would be welcome here or not. Only her safety if I had stayed.”

Tony then found himself pinned under the woman's wise gaze.

“And who might you be, that you accompany my sons on their journey back to me?”

Giving his best bow, Tony smiled charmingly as he introduced himself, “Tony Stark, my lady, at your service.”

An eyebrow cocked, telling Tony exactly where Loki had picked it up from, Frigga gave a humored smile as she recognized the name. “The man who gave my youngest shelter and stole my eldest right out from under our noses?”

“One and the same.” The ringmaster grinned back, rakishly.

She gave a short laugh even as Loki gave a small roll of his eyes at Tony's behavior. “And so forthright about it! Come, the parlor is upstairs. Let me offer you some tea and you can tell me what my boys have been doing.”

She led them back up that amazing marble staircase, which gave Tony plenty of time to appreciate the fine masonry that went in to the opera house.

Spotting his interest, Frigga explained, “The Borsons were wise to invest in the stonework many years before my husband inherited the opera house. It was an insightful venture that has paid off many times through the generations and will hopefully continue to so for the ones yet to come.” Frigga smiled as placed a hand on the smooth wall next to her.

Turning back to her sons and their guest, she waved them forward as she ascended a second flight of stairs. “Come, just a little further.”

This one was simpler, made of worn stone and leading to a plain but sturdy wooden door. The woman was stronger than she looked; easily pushing the thick wood out of the frame to allow the men entrance to what was obviously the family's living quarters and shutting it behind them. While the building below was grand, this place held a quiet elegance.

As they sat down in an adjoining room, Tony asked a question that had been bugging him since he met the brothers to break the ice, “I’ve been meaning to ask about that; why do none of you share the same last name? Borson, Odinson, Liesmith…” He trailed off at the last one, waiting for an answer and hoping that the woman hadn’t noticed his preference for the last even as the name lingered in his mouth and in the air. He continued to try and cover that, “Wouldn’t it be easier with just one?”

There was a tense pause as the woman continued to pour the tea servings quietly and Tony realized that this may be another touchy subject. He sent an apologetic glance in Loki’s direction, having only wanted to break the silence, not make it thicker.

Green eyes caught the motion and, after accepting his cup from his mother, Loki started the explanation himself. “It was because of my situation. Many believed that I should not be allowed the prestige of the family name because of the adoption.”

Thor broke in here, looking angry at the memory. “Loki is just as worthy of the name Borson as I, those who believe otherwise can take the matter up with me!”

Patting her eldest son’s hand before she pressed a cup of tea in to it, Frigga moved to present their guest with one while glancing back over at her youngest. Seemingly satisfied by what she saw there, she finished the explanations. “When Loki chose his last name, Thor joined him in doing so, taking the name Odinson in honor of the old ways.”

Nodding his understanding, Tony sat back and politely waited until the woman was turned away before making a face at the tea. He’d never enjoyed the taste, preferring the strong bite of coffee over the leafy drink, but he smoothed his expression back in to an interested smile before the woman looked at him.

Loki raised a humored brow at his antics from where he was seated to the other side of his mother on the _settee_ as Frigga smiled warmly at the American. And that acceptance was all it took.

The family was soon exchanging stories; Thor regaling them with wondrous tales about his Lady Jane and the other members of the troupe with Loki offering his own observations in between, the ringmaster even chiming in for a few of those. Frigga returned with tales of returning performers who had asked after them and the new acts that had filled the theaters night after night. It was the type of conversation that one really relaxed into, filled with warm words and humored chuckles.

While he was enjoying the friendly atmosphere, Tony couldn't help but think of how much happier Loki seemed to be now that he knew that his mother was safe and still held any sort of affection for him. He knew it was irrational, that Loki had many reasons to want to stay with the circus (friends, freedom, and Tony was optimistic enough to add himself to the list) but that didn't help the fear that grew in his chest. His hand rubbed just above his heart as he listened to Thor's next story.

Nearly an hour had passed before they realized it, the tea in Tony’s abandoned cup lukewarm as he held it like a prop, and Thor finally asked the question the engineer had knowingly avoided the first time.

“Where is our father? Why has he not come out to welcome us home?”

Watching as Loki tensed slightly at the mention of the man, Tony drew comfort from the long suffering sigh that the woman gave in response. Nothing really terrible was ever prefaced by an annoyed sigh.

“Mr. Jotun has asked him to meet with him again.”

Loki looked sharply over at his mother before averting his eyes, taking another sip from his recently refreshed tea.

“Your father has had to put up with this almost every week for the past few months.” Shaking her head, Frigga explained, “His theaters have never done quite as well, but recently he has been blaming it on a curse. The poor man has had to shut down two of his theaters in other cities because he did not have the funds to keep them.”

The stately woman didn’t sound very upset about the businessman’s problems. In fact, Tony got the impression that she was quietly pleased at their rival’s failing business and the small smile that flitted across her lips as she peeked at her youngest only solidified that belief. Tony grinned quietly for a moment, but the woman continued before he could comment.

“Your father allowed Mr. Jotun to sell a theater to us on the condition that it be returned if he bought it back within three months. That three month grace period finished over a fortnight ago, but Mr. Jotun has recently gained a new investor and wishes to buy it back.”

If Frigga was any less classy, Tony assumed she'd be rolling her eyes at that. Of course, because the woman was more elegant then some Queens the famous businessman had been introduced to over the years, she simply raised her brows and pursed her lips as she stirred her tea. “Your father is under no legal obligation to sell it back and met to tell him so.”

Looking to Tony, she hastily explained, “It is because we have already begun the renovations to the theater. If it were still in the same state we would have gladly sold it back, but it was the damaged theater.” She subtly laid a hand on top of Loki's and Tony thought he saw her pat it out of the corner of his eye while he kept eye contact. “We already called in the contractors and began work on rebuilding the whole structure. Mr. Jotun simply cannot afford to pay us back for those contracts as well.”

“It's perfectly reasonable to ask that he pays for both when he'd be getting that added benefit if you returned the theater.” Tony assured her, not mentioning his quiet glee at the karma that was catching up to the man who had pretty much run Loki out of Europe. He paused a moment to stifle his grin before using the opening to change the subject, “Speaking of buildings, would you mind if I left a box of Stark technology here in one of your theaters before we move on?”

Even Loki looked a bit intrigued by the question before Tony casually adjusted his spectacles higher on his nose. A slow smile curled the edge of the magician’s lips as his eyes narrowed with understanding.

“Setting up another remote location for JARVIS?” It might have sounded like a question if he hadn't sounded so confident in the assumption. Tony nodded as Frigga glanced between them curiously.

“For JARVIS? Who is this JARVIS and why would they need a box here?”

Tony raised his hand, elbow still resting on his knee as he sat forward, and the AI spoke up from the cufflink now displayed. “That would be me, Madam Borson.”

Only a woman with years of experience in running theaters could accept that sort of thing with barely a blink. “I see. Shall I address you as Mister JARVIS, then?”

The inventor could hear the smile in that posh voice when he responded, “That won’t be necessary, Madam. I am Just A Rather Very Intelligent System; JARVIS will be sufficient.”

Turning his arm so that he could look directly in to the lens he had installed there, Tony gave it a strange look.

“Are you _flirting_ with her? Not only is she happily married to the best of my knowledge,” Frigga nodded with an amused smile when the inventor glanced over, confirming his statement, before he continued, “But I _definitely_ didn't program you to do that!”

The AI gave a very good impersonation of a long suffering sigh from the speakers located within the accessory.

“I was attempting to be polite, Sir, which _is_ something you programmed. Even though you seem incapable of it.”

Thor's booming laugh at JARVIS' retort nearly covered Tony's disbelieving, “Again with the sass and mouthy comments.” He looked away from his technology and up into laughing green eyes, his own narrowing as a thought occurred. “I don't believe you were ever this snappy before you started having those mysterious conversations with Sunshine, here...”

When Loki made no move to answer him nor any sound to stop the unspoken question from continuing, the AI answered as Thor finally collected himself.

“I did say I learned from the best, Sir.”

That sent the three Nords in to another round of laughter, Loki's signature breathy chuckle joining the other two this time as Tony sat in shock, a betrayed look on his face. Tony would later blame this shock for missing any knowing looks that Frigga may have been giving to her youngest and him.

The sound of a carriage arriving at the front of the opera house brought the laughter to an end as the lady of the house moved to the window to confirm who it was.

“That is your father.” She looked back at her two sons, “Would you like to come with me to meet him at the door?” It was a tradition that she had started decades earlier, greeting her husband at the door whenever she could. Her sons had joined her there for many years before they had grown 'too old' for it.

“Of course!” Thor stood to accompany her down to the main hall, giving Loki a questioningly hopeful look as he did. (The elder was simply happy that his brother had agreed to come home at all and didn't want to push him in to leaving once again especially over so simple a thing.)

Shaking his head slightly, Loki stayed seated as he watched his family make their way back downstairs before finally looking at Tony, who was watching the exchange with an unreadable look on his face, hand to his chest. Loki let the silence stretch until he could no longer hear his family's footsteps before asking the question that had been worrying him for some time.

“Is it bothering you today?”

Coming out of his dark thoughts (how easily they fell back into family routines, having never really had one Tony wasn't sure if that was really as bad a sign as it seemed), Tony's hand paused in its rubbing motion before he set it down quickly.

“No, nothing so serious. It's just a nervous habit, you know that.”

And Loki did. He knew all of the ringleader's strange habits when it came to that medallion; tapping it when he had a new idea for an invention, rubbing it when worried or when the pangs from the pacemaker became a little too much, even licking it a few times out of boredom when drunk enough just to feel the shock.

“Yes, but that is the fifth time in the last two hours.” 'I was beginning to worry' was left unsaid, but Tony gave an apologetic smile at the magician's concern none the less.

“It's nothing,” Tony repeated more genuinely, an inexplicable sense of relief filling him at Loki's inadvertent admission to having been watching him even when he should have been paying attention to his family first. He received a skeptical look for his trouble and he relented, “Really, don't worry about it. I'll tell you once we get back, alri-”

A set of hurried footsteps made him pause and both of them turned to look as Thor burst in with more force than necessary.

“Laufey is coming, brother.”

Both of the seated men appeared unfazed at this announcement, much to Thor's bewilderment. Loki waved his hand to encourage his brother to retake his seat.

“There was always the possibility he would come once he was informed of our arrival. Best to get it over with promptly, I suppose.”

Looking to his boss, Thor tried to figure out what had changed. When Loki had left the country, even the mention of Mr. Jotun's name would have him flinching but now he looked calmer then he had on the ride over.

Tony understood that there was a large difference between meeting your spurned family (and hoping for forgiveness) and seeing the man who had pushed you in to running in the first place. Especially when Loki was now even more confident about the actual part he had played in the fire (not intentional even if it possibly could have been him who started it). Besides, the magician had always been one to meet his opponents with a smile rather than a frown. It threw them off beautifully.

Patting the side of the armchair next to his, Tony encouraged, “Come on, big guy. Take a seat and watch the masters at work.”

The engineer was pretty sure Loki was, under all of that poise that tinged with a bit of remembered fear, just as excited at the chance to mess with this guy as he was. After all, messing with Laufey had been one of the younger brother's favorite past times before the fire breathing incident had temporarily robbed him of his confidence and made him fear for his family.

As for Tony, he'd never liked a bully. The fact that it was Loki who was affected by it only made him want to mess with the rival owner even more. Loki may not know it, but he had become Tony's and the inventor wasn't fond of other people hurting what was his, even if it had happened before they had met.

He sent the magician a sharp grin of anticipation and received a quick smirk in return before the wooden door creaked open once again, Frigga leading the way, face a little pinched in annoyance. It looked like she was as happy to allow the oily businessman entrance as her imposing husband was to have met with him at all (and judging by the scowl on the large man's bearded face as he followed his rival into the parlor) but introduced the room with a bland smile none the less.

“Mr. Jotun, let me reintroduce you to our second son, Loki Liesmith.” The seedy man made no moves to keep his sneer hidden, reddened eyes narrowed and looking distinctly displeased to see the prodigal son's return.

Loki returned the scathing look with a polite smile that didn't completely cover the dark amusement in his eyes, obviously laughing at the other man's discomfort.

“So good to see you again, Mr. Jotun. I understand you have been down on your luck lately. I do so hope that you are able to dispel that run of _bad luck_.”

Bristling in his worn blue suit, Laufey gave a small snarl at the mocking undertones even as he paled a bit at the subtle implication that he was as cursed as he had been claiming.

“Yes,” the petty man bit back in their native language (JARVIS quietly translating in Tony's ear), uncaring of those who surrounded him as he once again crossed words with this most detested nuisance. “I had a recent windfall, no thanks to _you_.”

Loki just gave a mocking smile and used English once again simply because he knew Laufey was terrible with it, “A 'wind _fall_ ', what a fine choice of words.” His smile sharpened as the businessman read the clear threat, paling further. “Perfect, even.”

Taking that moment to interrupt and continue introductions, Frigga gestured to Tony, “And this is our friend and the employer of both our sons, Mister Anthony Stark.”

Tony dialed back his wickedly amused smirk at Loki's playing to give the theater owner a rather flat version of his usually dazzling smile. But Laufey didn't seem interested in his expression, his bloodshot eyes glued to the faint outline on Tony's chest, a hungry sort of surprise on his growing into a disturbingly smarmy smile.

“Ah, Mister Stark.” The theater owner moved forward slightly even as Tony held back a wince at the man's pronunciation. He obviously wasn't as practiced as the others in the room and the inventor silently wished that he would go back to his native language for the sake of his ears (JARVIS was a fantastic translator), but watching him struggle was way too amusing. “I was hoping to see you sometime during your tour. I would be more than glad to offer you the use of my theaters for your shows.”

Well, there was just no way that was happening. Not after his acts against Loki and his family and certainly not after that telling look he'd just subjected Tony to. But, denying him out right would only anger him needlessly, make Pepper mad at his negotiation skills, and ruin any further chance of fun. Instead, Tony tried for a politely regretful tone.

“Terribly sorry, Mister Yo-ton, but we have already agreed to use the Borson's theaters if anything.” The mispronunciation was intentional.

Smile becoming slightly wooden as his eyes flicked back down to Tony's chest then around to the others in the room, Laufey gave a nod of acceptance.

“Of course you have.” Even Thor must have noticed the disgusted curl at the corner of the lanky man's lips before it disappeared. “Well, if you are going to Germany, I will be more than happy to have you as the Borson theaters have not yet purchased any land or buildings in that country. Feel free to call so I can take care of you.”

Not enjoying the continued treatment as an object (and the sickening thought of being possessed by _that_ man), Tony simply made a noncommittal grunt before requesting a refill on his half empty cup of tea and struck up another conversation with Frigga.

“Now, about that remote server, where do you think we might be able to set that up?”

He noticed that Laufey's eye twitched a little as he turned back to Odin and made his excuses in his native language. Loki was watching the other two carefully as the short man promised to bring the required amount of money shortly with a confidence he hadn't possessed earlier.

Tony glanced over at the magician as he stood to finally greet his father properly once the wooden door had swung shut, but continued his discussion of available spaces for JARVIS' newest addition after a quick look from Loki. As Tony listened to the woman's suggestions as to where the machinery might be placed, Tony kept half an ear on the conversation that JARVIS was kindly enhancing for him and tried not to look over at the two men he was eavesdropping on.

Odin's voice was heavy when he spoke, “Loki.” The younger man's tone was a little lighter and Tony thought that he could detect a note of relief when the magician replied, “Father.”

They must have been inspecting one another as they stood like that for a long moment, long enough for Tony to start worrying that his earpiece was acting up and sneak a quick glance at the pair in between his explanations of how the machinery would work with a little help from Thor. The strongman had the added benefit of having a tinker for a girlfriend and growing up with Loki probably helped, but their mother had been content to leave such things to her boys. She seemed quite content to listen to their easy banter over the placement of the device as the other men in her life reacquainted themselves.

Tony's glance came just in time to see the magician start slightly as his father rested a hand on his shoulder and the ringmaster thought he could almost see pride on the older man's bearded face as a gruff voice was projected over his ear piece. “Welcome home, my son.”

The inventor found it hard to keep up with his current conversation, but held it together even as he grinned. He knew it! Well, okay. No, he hadn't been sure that Odin would react in this way, but he had been reassuring Loki of it for quite a while, so he was looking forward to saying 'I told you so'.

He thought that over again as Thor tried to explain how the devices communicated through radio waves. No, he couldn't, because he wasn't supposed to be hearing this. Damn. Maybe he could somehow entice Loki to tell him directly. Tony licked his lips slightly as he planned a few persuasion techniques that would be highly entertaining even if they didn't work.

Loki's amused voice brought him out of his contemplations and he could almost feel the other's gaze on the back of his neck. “It is good to know I can still claim this place as my home, for all that I have found and made my own elsewhere.”

Catching the look easily from the corner of his eye, the ringmaster sent a quick grin in return, before turning back to Frigga. “Now, what would you like the device to be named?”

“Named?” The woman queried, clearly not understanding why a mechanical device would need to be named. It wasn't common, but all of these inventions needed names to be able to differentiate themselves to JARVIS and one another. Tony usually named them himself, but he was more than willing to make an exception for this exceptional woman.

“Yes. It's like a call-sign, a way of designating where each piece of information came from and where the information is supposed to go to.” He could hear the pair still talking to each other faintly, but he couldn't pass this to Thor because Jane hadn't ever been told about this part of the process. Tony resigned himself to listening to it later as he continued, “That's why it has to be unique. When JARVIS references other people or places he sends out a mass signal and it's a hassle to have to modify it for a few locations like he would if two of the names were the same.”

Frigga seemed to have an idea of what might work, but turned to Odin for his input, easily spotting them as he followed their younger son back over to the conversation. They shared a 'couples' look (and damn it if Tony didn't get a little ticked off. Did _everyone else_ understand those?) where she was all smiles and he was grudgingly amused anticipation.

“What would you call the one who watches over all of us, both here and abroad, husband?”

Odin's lips twitched slightly at what was obviously an inside joke before answering, “Heimdall would be best suited for the position.”

Glancing over at the two brothers, Tony was relieved to see he wasn't the only one who didn't catch the reference. He gave a shrug before having JARVIS take note of the name, “Alright then, that's spelled with two 'L's at the end, right?”

Receiving the affirmative, Tony nodded before standing to shake the theater owner's hand. “Nice to see you again, Mister Borson. I trust you've been as well as your letters have led me to believe?”

The bearded man took the proffered hand with both a smile and a hard look. “Of course; better now that my sons have returned.” Odin caught the mostly suppressed twitch as Tony's hand made to rub at his chest once more, his fears flaring for a moment before the ringmaster grinned.

“Only temporarily.”

Not looking as upset by the reminder as Tony thought he would, Odin gave grunted chuckle as he released his fellow businessman's hand.

“I can see that, now.”

Feeling a bit paranoid at how easily this was going, Tony narrowed his eyes at the older man, only to see that sharp eye flick down towards his neck and then in Loki's direction. Sudden insight into what that couple's conversation might have been about dawned on the inventor, eyes widening as the meet the parents scenario became very real.

“As for your snap decision to only use Borson theaters on your tour,” Odin continued even as Tony quietly freaked out within his own head.

He'd never met the parents of anyone he had ever dated, _ever_. Tony congratulated himself on not hyperventilating under the combined weighted gazes of two of the most important people in Loki's life. In fact, if it weren't for the sudden tensing of his shoulders and a few quick glances in the magician's direction, Tony might have pulled off 'casual'.

Pausing for another measured look, Odin's eye seemed to stare into his very soul and Tony wasn't so sure that it was even close to being worthy enough. He gave a gulp that sounded terribly loud to his own ears as the father shared another couple's look with his wife and finally ground out, “I approve.”

Tony had never before been so speechless, struck dumb by the underlying message he'd just been given. Wide brown eyes shifted over to meet Loki's equally surprised gaze.

Thor looked on in amused confusion - eyes slightly narrowed as he acknowledged the fact that he was missing some deeper meanings - as his employer opened his mouth only to close it again when no words came.

It happened only once more before Tony found his tongue. “I – thank you. I'm honored you – I'll – Thank you.”

Finding his tongue didn't mean that it would obey him, evidently.

Frigga gave a short laugh at his reaction and patted her younger son's hand. “Will you be performing tonight, then?”

Both of the sons looked to the ringleader who shrugged, appreciating the solid footing of his business.

“We could if you wanted. We'd agreed to take the night off so that your family could get reacquainted, but if you'd rather see them perform that could be arranged as well.” Tony grinned at that, always up for performing and the adrenaline rush it brought (and Loki's tight leather pants). He hastily added, “Your theaters won't be needed though, we brought our rings with us, as usual.”

“If it would not trouble your troupe to perform with so little warning, we would love to see our sons perusing their passions.” Frigga looked concerned at the possible inconvenience, but she smiled shortly after. “And you have our approval, none the less.”

Grin widening at the reminder, Tony couldn't think of one reason why they shouldn't at least try to put on a performance that night. “Let's get to work then, JARVIS. Send a message to the group that we're having a show tonight with two VIPs.”

“At once, Sir.” The AI didn't seem terribly surprised by this decision, but continued even as Tony opened his mouth to speak once more. “And, I am terribly sorry to interrupt, but Miss Romanova is requesting your presence in the opera's stables.”

Tony frowned, mind already flicking through the things that she might ask him to be there for at this time and coming up with nothing good. He turned back to the others. “If you'll excuse me; I never like to keep a lady waiting.”

Not really waiting to be dismissed, Tony was quickly out the door and headed down the stairs, only pausing slightly as he heard light footsteps behind him.

Throwing a look over his shoulder after reaching the main foyer, he spotted Loki following him down to see what was wrong. It was the person behind him that made him stop short though. A dusty Clint was moving silently down the steps as well, apparently having been listening in from the rafters and now trying to spook the magician.

It didn't seem to be working, as even with the inventor's strong reaction Loki didn't even pause or turn to look behind him before warning, “I do hope you understand what you would be starting if you try that, little Hawk.”

Clint mouthed a very incredulous looking 'Starting?' but put down his hands from where he was going to smear dust all over the European man's dark outfit. Reaching Tony's position, Loki gave the acrobat a sly look over his shoulder.

“I see that you can be trained. Excellent.” He then had to move quickly to dodge a swipe.

Tony ducked out of the way and out the door as he realized that Clint wasn't going to stop just because he missed his original target. Swiftly making his way around to the side of the building, the warring pair almost dancing their way over behind him, Tony soon spotted the redhead waiting for them in one of the empty stalls.

Making his way around to the opening, he surprised himself with only a small hitch in his step as he spotted the kneeling man. It wasn't anyone he recognized, but the blank look on his face and his jerking movements once he saw Tony were frankly disturbing.

Natasha didn't take her eyes off of the bound man as she explained, “He started tailing you half way through town and looked about ready to start climbing the walls once the front door was closed.” She nudged him on to his side with her foot, unmoved when he gave a grunt of pain as he hit the ground. “Two others were with him. Clint got one but the other got away.”

Tony jutted his jaw slightly, running his tongue over his teeth as he processed this. “What's so different about these guys that you had to tell me?”

Assassination attempts weren't so unusual these days, but the Black Widow and Hawkeye were more than ready to use them as practice to keep their skills sharp. The fact that they called him in to see it was different and the ringmaster needed to know why. Leaning down, Tasha pulled the gag down, allowing the mutters to be heard for a moment.

“-llion. Retrieve Tony Stark. Take medallion. Retrieve Tony Stark. T-” The cloth quieted the droning words once more and Tony found he was more surprised that he _didn't_ jump as Loki placed a hand on his shoulder, green eyes narrowed as he inspected the lackey.

“I know this man. He was the second apprentice at the carpentry mill over on the east side of the village last I heard.” He looked back at the now professional Clint, “You might want to give that a look if you have time before the show.”

Sharply nodding at the advice, Hawkeye shook the last of the dust from his hair and gave the wall two taps of varied strength. A sharp sniff was all he got in reply from his partner before he scaled the building, presumably to start the investigation.

Finally knocking the man out with a swift squeeze to the back of his neck, Natasha looked up at the ringmaster. “Get Thor and head back together, Pepper isn't happy that you've changed plans last second.” She then shifted her gaze to the magician.

The look she gave Loki spoke volumes (protect him while we hunt or die trying) as did the nod she received in reply and Tony felt an irrational surge of jealousy at their silent understanding before he pushed it back and went to go round up the strongman.

Looking a bit relieved - Odin had taken the time during their absence to start asking after Thor's 'Lady Jane' that had convinced him to stay in America with his brother - Thor stood readily when they made it back to the parlor.

Loki had a few whispered words with his father about the situation that had just occurred on his property as Tony begged forgiveness for their hasty departure from the lady of the house. Waving them off elegantly, Frigga kissed both of her sons on the cheek as a farewell (a heavy hand and a stern one-eyed glare had put the fear of god and Odin into Tony) before the woman went so far as to bestow a kiss on the ringleader's cheek as well. Tony thought he saw her glare at her husband as they left.

Taking their leave, the ride back to the airship was much quicker, though still dotted with a few villagers wanting to speak to the brothers. Both Tony and Loki had decided that Thor would only be told what had happened once they arrived, along with the rest of the group; there was no need for him to start rushing around looking for threats that may or may not be there.

It didn't take them long to arrive back at the balloon, a stressed looking Pepper waiting for them at the ramp.

Tony winced slightly as he realized exactly what this next hour or four before the show was going to include. Not only was he going to have to round up the cast and crew, set up the rings, and get it all done without alerting whoever those drones worked for, but he was going to have to explain the dangers to an already annoyed Virginia Potts.

He tried to wipe the grimace off of his face before they got close enough for her to spot it, replacing it with a wide grin. “Pepper, darling!”

The irate woman cut him off before he could try to sweet talk her out of the small speech she had prepared after JARVIS had informed her of the change.

“Oh, no. Don't you try to talk your way out of this one!” Her scolding finger lowered as she gave him a look that clearly questioned his sanity, “What do you think you were doing, changing your mind at one in the afternoon? When we're on the ground and the carts are already out is one thing, but pulling it all together when it's all stored?”

Carefully _not_ rolling his eyes at her rapid fire questions, having learned that she wasn't really expecting an answer and definitely not wanting to provoke her further, Tony led his horse up the ramp as the circus' manager followed.

“How could you even think tha-” The redhead was clearly on a roll, not even stopping to let Tony dismount and return the horse before starting in, but was cut off by a velvety accented voice.

“Please do not treat him too harshly, Madam Potts. This is my doing.”

Blinking as she turned away from her boss, mouth still slightly open as she paused mid-sentence, Pepper looked torn between asking why or simply changing the target of her frustrations. Loki continued playing her like a fiddle before she decided and Tony was glad that Thor had gone ahead with Loki's horse.

“Our parents expressed that they wished to see our performances tonight. _Monsieur_ Stark was kind enough to acquiesce to their request at my insistence. Forgive me; I should have considered everyone first.” He looked so contrite that the woman's anger fizzled out and she gave a slight sigh.

Tony watched with amusement as Pepper gave in to the magician, accepting his apology with a quiet, “No, it's alright. We've dealt with worse before and today _was_ planned for you and your family in the first place.” She gave him a small smile before addressing the retreating ringmaster.

“Don't think you're getting out of this. You're helping Happy with set up!” Pepper then moved away to continue her own preparations for the night.

Giving a sigh of his own, Tony let his shoulders slump slightly as he hitched his horse back in its stable and started pulling out the equipment needed to make up the rings and tents. Loki stopped to place a questioning hand on the showman's shoulder.

“Do you require any assistance?” Tony just gave him a small smile and nudged him towards the ladder.

“Don't worry about it, Sunshine. Your act just got me out of a lecture and you've got some last minute prep to do before tonight, so get going.”

Loki gave him a warm look, obviously enjoying the fact that the other man could read him so well and appreciate his powers of manipulation. He leaned in to whisper a reminder, “You will be telling me about that incessant rubbing later.”

With a roll of his eyes, Tony pushed Loki towards the rooms. “Later, now go.”

Taking the hint, Loki left to get dressed and start preparing his box of tricks for the upcoming show, needing everything perfect for when he would perform for his family.

It wasn't like the larger preparations were hard for Tony, simply time consuming. The wagons moved out of the airship on magnetized rails, rolling easily on to the hard packed soil of the clearing at the touch of a button.

Already waiting for them, Happy shot him a grin as he started lining the carts up, obviously amused at his wife's reactions to both Tony and Loki (and possibly the duo's short interaction afterward).

“Not a word out of you. I still have to call a short meeting before the show.”

Happy looked concerned at that, meetings weren't terribly common in a circus, especially not ones that might interfere with the upcoming show. Seeing that, Tony quietly started explaining what they had seen at the theater's stables, allowing the loud mechanical noises of the carts to shield his words from any spies.

Just under two hours’ worth of work later the Circus was ready for business, the whole thing going even faster after Cap and Rhodey wandered in from the town to pitch in as well.

Wiping a bit of sweat from his brow as they inspected the rings for anything they might have forgotten, Tony took the time to ask Steve, “Hear anything while you were out asking around, Cap?”

The blond removed his signature star-spangled hat to run his fingers through his hair in an aggravated gesture before answering, “A bit. Last anyone had heard, Bucky's troupe was down on the main continent. Mostly down the eastern half near Russia according to the rumors, but no more information than that.”

“Well, looks like that's where we'll be headed next then,” Tony decided immediately, returning the clown's grateful grin with a cheerful one of his own.

A soft whoosh as the tent's opening flapped shut again had them both turning to see the last of the troupe filing into the big top, Tony earning a few questioning looks from those gathered. Ignoring them for the moment, the inventor looked to the pair of ex-assassins and Natasha answered with a short shake of her head – nothing new was found.

“Alright, groundlings, let's get this meeting started.” He gave a sharp smile as some of them grumbled at the Shakespearean insult, before sobering, “We had a little trouble crop up today in the form of rather mindless kidnapers. Emphasis on the 'mindless'.”

A heavy look was shared between the two scientists in the room at that before Bruce visibly held himself back and rubbed at the bridge of his nose uneasily.

Jane spoke up shortly after, “Do we know who they were targeting or why?”

The man in question hesitated, not wanting to lie but, at the same time, not wanting to have to put up with a large group of mother hens like he'd been forced to the last time.

He wasn't allowed the choice as Clint spoke up, “They keep repeating their orders over and over; it wasn't hard to guess that they wanted the bossman here.”

Sending the archer a halfhearted glare (only getting a careless shrug in response) Tony nearly groaned as he spotted that protective glint in nearly everyone's eyes. He just couldn't understand why they felt the need to defend him so often; it wasn't like he couldn't protect himself! So what he nearly got shot last time, the armor did its job! Granted, he couldn't just _wear_ the armor all the time here, but come on!

Eyes sliding over the muttering group (they were making plans to have him watched at all times, he just knew it) Tony's gaze locked with a steadfast green one. Unconsciously relaxing, Tony let Loki capture his attention briefly before moving on.

“We aren't going to stop the shows, we're still going to tour, and we're still going to try and locate the Bucking Broncos.” Some looked ready to protest this, but Tony just held his hands up for continued silence. “Look, we knew it was going to be dangerous when we decided to come. That didn't stop us then and it isn't going to stop us now that the threat has been confirmed. We'll just be a little more cautious, that's all.”

He then lowered his hands to show he was done, moving towards Bruce. Finding the scientist quietly discussing something with Steve, the ringmaster made his way over to the good doctor.

“Brucie,” the fugitive looked up at the genius inventor's call. “Do you think you could whip up a few more of those pills for everyone here? Just in case of... just in case?”

That got a short nod from the chemist. “I'll let them take my latest batch.” Sternly looking over his glasses at Tony, Dr. Banner queried, “ _You_ have been taking them faithfully already though, right?”

Tony started sputtering at that, “What? Of course I do, why wouldn't I, it-”

His AI spoke up to put him out of his misery, “I've been adding them to his coffee every morning, Doctor Banner.”

An amused smile flitted over Bruce's face at that even as his friend muttered darkly at his cufflinks. “Keep up the good work then, JARVIS.”

Glare shifting up to the chuckling duo in front of him (Steve always liked a good joke) Tony over-dramatically admonished, “Don't you go encouraging him.”

“Tony,” a stern female voice called from just behind him.

Turning to face his long-time friend, the ringleader complained, “Don't tell me you've finished designing the babysitting schedule _already_! What, is this contingency plan K for Kidnappers?”

The redhead immediately parried with, “No, it's standing order T.”

Tony looked suspicious as he took a guess, “For Tony?”

Not even raising a brow at his ego, Pepper corrected, “For Trouble, but the two are completely interchangeable these days.”

He almost went to argue before he thought better of it, “Fair enough.”

It was about that time that Tony noticed that the meeting was breaking up, over half of the cast already missing from the tent, but Pepper prodded him on the shoulder to bring his attention back. He ignored Darcy's snicker as he rubbed the area like he'd been injured, playfully pouting as the organizer pointed to the exit.

“You still have to wash up and get ready for the performance tonight. I know how long it takes you. Go.”

Pout becoming a little lopsided, Tony debated whether or not to obey that order, before deciding she was probably right and that this was the perfect chance to escape on his own before a baby sitter could be assigned (Loki was one of the ones already gone, so what would be the point in staying?).

Not wanting to let on that he might be getting the better end of this deal, the ringmaster rolled his eyes and gave a huff of annoyance before slipping out of the tent towards the tethered airship.

It didn't take long for him to make it back to his rooms, where he promptly discarded his already undone tie and hung his plain black suit jacket, pulling out his showman's outfit as he did. Tony was just glad that he'd remembered to pack at least three pairs of this outfit, seeing as he'd forgotten to do any sort of laundering the night before and that jacket was still crumpled and half under a chair.

He did a double take. A very occupied chair.

Loki gave a smile at having finally been noticed.

“I can see why they think you need a minder if that is how long it takes you to realize someone else is in the room, _Monsieur_.” The magician's tone was teasing, but his posture was more tense than usual.

Sure that he knew why the other man was here, Tony attempted to distract Loki, slowly unbuttoning his white dress shirt and pulling it from where it was tucked in to his pants as he replied, “Maybe I'm just used to your presence, Sunshine. It would've been different if it'd been anyone else.”

Loki's intense gaze followed his fingers as they pulled the shirt off completely to expose Tony's chest, catching the way the inventor's pulse quickened under the heated inspection. Enjoying the display, the European man licked his lips in a deliberately sensuous fashion before asking the question Tony was obviously trying to avoid.

“You never did explain why you were rubbing your chest so earnestly all day.”

Tony looked down at the reddened area just under his swinging medallion. Frowning at the reminder, the inventor turned and grabbed a nearby wash cloth, hitting a button to start filling his wash basin with lukewarm water as he did.

“Like I told you before, it's nothing you should worry about.” He wet the rag and began to wipe the sweat off of his upper body, wishing he had the time to take a bath before the show and hoping against hope that Loki might drop the subject. The nervous habit and the reasons behind it seemed almost foolish now that they were both back here. Together and without the threat of Loki possibly leaving.

So focused on not answering or looking at the other man, Tony jumped as he felt those familiar, ring clad hands on his back. He froze as the hands started moving, one caressing down one side of his back slowly as the other slipped up, over his shoulder and down his arm to pull the damp washcloth from loosened fingers.

The art of breathing came back to him ask Loki took a half step back and started running the cloth over his back.

“That you are so hesitant to tell me only worries me further.”

The soft admission had Tony slouching forward to place his hands on the dresser in front of him, head hanging a bit as he realized that if he didn't explain now, Loki would drop the subject just as the inventor had done for him many times before. Damn him for using Tony's own tactics against him. Damn him for actually caring. 'And damn me for loving it,' Tony thought with an almost humorless smile. 'Don't ever let him stop.'

The thought of Loki not caring anymore had his hand at his chest.

Cloth disappearing from his back, Tony started to look back and moved to drop his hand down on to the wooden surface in front of him, only for it to be caught in a long fingered hand. Tony leaned back slightly into Loki's warmth as it chased away the chill left behind by the washcloth, allowing his captured hand to be guided back to his chest, more directly over his heart then before.

A quiet plea was whispered near his ear as the magician rested his chin on Tony's shoulder, “Tell me.”

“It's,” Tony moved to grasp the hand as his waist, intertwining their fingers as he slowly admitted, “it's when I.” He cursed himself for being so terrible at expressing the important things. Closing his eyes and squeezing the other man's fingers, he forced it all out in to the open. In for a penny, in for a pound.

“When the thought of you possibly leaving, to stay with them, to not be with _me_ -” No, he wasn't going to stop. He wrestled with his cracking voice, “It hurts when I realize that you have better places to be.”

It was times like this that Tony felt the emotional scars left behind by his father and pseudo-father most keenly, when he couldn't think of one reason why someone else would stay with him when he was so clearly unwanted. He made to pull away, needing a stiff drink to help wash those insecurities away. He'd built himself a family of his own, one that traveled, performed, joked, argued, and _lived_ together; wasn't he over this sort of thing?

Loki simply tightened his hold on the engineer.

“No.”

Tony flinched at the other man's unknowing response to his mental question, turning his head to the side looking for an escape even as Loki pressed a gentle kiss on to his neck.

Closing his own eyes, the trickster whispered, “There is no place better for me than this.”

Time seemed to step out to give the pair some space as Tony froze, trying to figure out if he'd heard correctly. Releasing his grip on the magician's hands, the slightly shorter man turned in the other's embrace to face him.

Allowing it, Loki stood up straighter and dropped his hands to grasp the inventor's elbows lightly. The confused wonderment on Tony's face confirmed the magician's suspicions that the genius didn't fully appreciate his own worth even as he continuously endeavored to remind Loki of his own.

“What do you mean? This town has everything you'd need, family, friends, a theater to perform in -” His protests were cut off by Loki's lips covering his, one of his talented hands pulling Tony roughly into it. Only able to helplessly respond to the familiar sensations after the initial half second of shock wore off, Tony was a little breathless when Loki eventually pulled back to respond.

“This place may house my parents, but it holds little of interest for me past that. Why would I stay when I would lose my independence, my freedom?”

Tony looked away, but the magician didn't give him time to even begin to be disappointed.

“When you would leave me behind, why would I ever stay trapped in this city?”

Tony stared at Loki with wide eyes. His silence stretched so long that the later was almost afraid that he'd misread the level of affection the former held for him. Those worries were thrown away when Tony threaded his callused hands through the magician's hair and pulled him close, fiercely muttering his response against the other man's lips.

“God, I love you.” He didn't wait for a response to that admission before nearly attacking Loki's lips with his own, feeling the other smile as he did.

He realized that, while he might be half undressed, Loki was still fully clothed and ready for the performance, just missing that long, beautiful leather jacket. Tony set about remedying that error, busying one hand with the buttons on the black fitted vest while using the other to encourage the magician to tilt his head to the side and give the inventor better access to his neck. Allowing it, Loki gave a deep, throaty chuckle as his hands caressed the other man's back.

“Going above and beyond on the number of,” he had to pause, inhaling sharply as Tony's hand started not so gently tugging on the sensitive hairs at the nape of his neck. Loki let a few fingers slip ever so slightly beneath the back of the inventor's pants in retaliation before continuing, “ _Touching_ moments this month, _Monsieur_?”

Tony snorted at the reminder, grazing the junction between Loki's neck and shoulder ever so slightly with his teeth then replying, “Well, we _are_ geniuses.”

Tony pulled back to shoot the other man a grin as his fingers finished unbuttoning the dark dress shirt and began tracing familiar patterns on the now exposed skin.

“And it would be quite a shame if we didn't at least _try_ to outdo the competition, don't you think?”

Free hand sneaking up the engineer's spine to stop just between the shoulder blades, Loki purred, “I think that I would like to get on with the type of 'touching moment' we'd both prefer at this moment, _Monsieur_.”

Moaning slightly as the hand on his back pressed the two of them closer together, Tony enjoyed the feel of Loki's bare chest against his own even as their lips met once more.

He nipped at the magician's lip when he felt that wandering hand work its way further into his pants, releasing it to murmur, “Well, I'm not going to say no to that.”

In the back of his mind, Tony made a note to subtly thank Pep for sending him up two hours before the show was set to start, before succumbing to his desires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out I am still a tease. Sorry about the wait, Assassin's Creed III and work have consumed nearly all of my time these days. The next chapter is roughly the size of both of these first two chapters combined, maybe a little less. So you'll have that to look forward to if you're still sticking around for the final part of the series! :)


	3. Vanishing Act

“I know it's late and you've been a great audience, but we still have one last act in us if you'd like to stick around to see it!”

The crowd gave a roar as each of the previous performers reentered the ring on horseback for the grand finale, an extra mare trotting in for Tony who was standing in the middle of the large center ring announcing the act. He easily saddled up with a grin and led the fiery red mustang into position to start the trick riding they had all been trained to do by Cap.

Giving Natasha a look across the ring, he pulled his horse to the right and joined Clint, Rhodey, and Steve in walking the outside of the ring. The others, Thor, Natasha, Bruce, and Loki, moved opposite them in a tighter circle and Tony whispered to the woman as she passed on her solid black mare, “Fifth row back, to the East.”

A quick smile showed that either she or Clint had already noticed and Tony relaxed a bit into the act, enjoying the crowd's gasps as they all sped up into a canter.

The assassins, Loki, and himself had been keeping a sharp eye out for any suspicious characters both inside and outside the shows, while leaving the others to their own devices (which, unfortunately for Tony, included mothering him to the point of distraction). Other precautions had also been taken, but those would only go in to effect if the kidnapping or theft was actually successful.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. All they had to do was find Steve's troupe, finish the tour and go home.

Soon enough the troupes’ acrobats started trading horses, jumping between the inner and outer ring, while those with lesser physical abilities started weaving in between each other. Shortly after the crowd was awed by the skills of Steve and the assassins as they performed the craziest stunts while their mares were doing quick sprints across the center of the ring – standing, doing hand stands; Steve even pulled of his signature flip without a hitch, the one that had put him out of commission years prior.

A thunder of applause rattled the stands as they wound the horses back down, Steve coming to a stop in the center as the rest circled him and stopped. They all gave a bow in unison before clearing the ring, Tony slipping from his horse as it followed the rest out.

He wrapped up the show, JARVIS translating through the speakers for the German crowd once more, “And that was our show folks! Thanks so much for coming to see the _Stark Spectaculaire_! If you're in the US, stop by and see us again!”

Cheers followed the entire troupe and their ringleader out of the big top before the audience began to make their way out of the stands, either filtering out in to the booths set up nearby or starting back towards their homes.

Each of the performers led their steeds back into the airship and groomed their personal horse, putting away the tack and rubbing the dust out of their hair. Unfortunately, thorough washings would have to wait until tomorrow (or at least later; after the people had left).

Steve, of course, was the first to finish having had the most experience with horses and how to handle them. Soon, Tony saw him looking around and almost groaned when Cap clearly noticed that he was working slower than usual.

In truth, the ringmaster just didn't want to have to go mingle with the audience again and was determined to put it off as long as possible. Those drones they'd been finding gave him the creeps and he just _knew_ that Laughy guy was waiting to corner him, judging by his stalking over the past week.

Grimacing at that thought, the ringmaster wasn't surprised to see Cap pulling off the last of the ringmaster's horse's tack and begin cleaning it up so it could be stowed away for the night. The horseman always helped out his fellow performers before heading out on his own, self-imposed quest.

Tony gave a half smile as he picked up the brushes to start grooming his mustang in earnest. Many of the others had Arabians, but he'd found this little beauty in some hick town and she just begged to see the open road. He'd bought her for a large sum of money, but it wasn't even half of what he knew she was worth.

The farmer he'd purchased her from had called her Shelby and that was fine with Tony, but many of the others had simply taken to calling her The Mustang in much the same way that The Jag had earned his name. Pausing in his brushing, Tony took a moment to wonder if the two had ever met, before going back to the monotonous circular strokes with a soft snort. Jungle cats and horses would probably never get along. Then again, he'd thought the same thing about Dummy...

Finished with the tack, Steve moved around the horse to start cleaning its hooves, questioning his boss as he did. “Is something wrong? You seem a little out of it tonight.” Looking over in the trick rider's direction, but unable to see him because of the large horse in the way, Tony blinked. “I'm a little tired, I suppose, but nothing big.” He went back to brushing out the hindquarters of his beauty. “Why'd you ask?” Steve set the hoof back on the floor and stood to grin at Tony, “You're being quiet.”

Tony rolled his eyes. Of course _that_ would be what gave him away: when he shut his damn mouth. “Well, everyone has an off night.” He flashed him a grin as he moved around to tend to the other half of his mare, “Even I can't be perfect all the time, Cap.” Voice echoing above the stalls, Clint retorted, “Stark isn't perfect most of the time, if ever.” Looking up, Tony frowned a bit, wondering if the archer's voice had just echoed from another point in the room or from the vents.

He finally just shrugged because it didn't really matter and he wasn't going to waste his time or energy trying to figure it out. “So, Cap. You hitting the streets for more information again tonight?” Steve still looked hopeful after over a week of nothing but rumors, “Yeah. I really feel good about it this time after hearing that they'd performed in one of the nearby cities last night before we started the acts up.” Turning that hopeful gaze to Tony, he asked, “Would you like to come with me?”

Unable to deny the puppy dog look on his face, especially when it meant a bit of company when finally facing the masses, Tony caved, “Sure thing, buddy. I'll be right there with you.” It didn't take too long after that for the two to finish settling Shelby in for the night, leaving her chowing down as they closed up the stables for the night. They then headed back down the ramp and in to the slowly thinning crowd that was still milling around the circus area, looking for any familiar faces.

They asked at least three or four people if they'd heard of the Broncos and Caps' excitement went up and down like a sine wave as each one reported hearing about it, but none had actually attended or knew where they might be headed next. The next person they ran in to, a woman literally stumbling in to the rather buff clown as she turned a corner, and she apologized profusely before answering. “Of course! I just saw that Frenchman, Jacques, over by the food stalls on the other side of the circus."

“Really?” Tony was sure that the only other time he could remember Steve getting this excited was when he had first told him that they were going to be traveling over here. The ringmaster smiled at his friend as he looked excitedly back and forth between the nodding woman and his boss, practically bouncing where he stood. Seeing the question in his eyes, Tony waved the trick rider off in the direction the girl had referred to, “Go get him, Cap. I'm heading back to the airship to get some sleep.”

As Steve grabbed him in a hug for thanks, Tony whispered, “Tell Loki they're here.” The clown gave him a slightly concerned look but couldn't shake his ecstatic joy long enough to really question why the magician needed to know so instead he just gave the ringmaster a nod before jogging off through the crowd. Reaching down to his cufflinks, Tony loosened one before giving the brunette woman a smile. She returned it beautifully, but he found it hard to appreciate with that handgun pointed at him.

It was, of course, tactfully hidden between her body and the tent she had just run out from behind so that the crowd didn't start to panic around them, but it was held confidently even if the woman seemed a little distant as she explained with a now British accent, “Come, Mister Tony Stark. They need to speak with you.” Not exactly raising his hands, but opening them to show that he wasn't a threat, Tony asked cautiously, “They?” She motioned for him to follow her with the gun.

“They need to speak with you, Mister Tony Stark.” Her tone was exactly the same as it had been the first time she had said it and Tony realized that the drug wasn't just creating mindless drones. Some of them kept at least part of their original personalities it seemed, if Miss Peggy Carter here was anything to go by. Steve may not have recognized her, having only ever seen a couple blurry newspaper photographs, but Tony'd looked in to this more than once and the genius was good with faces.

Following her cautiously back around the corner of the tent, they were greeted by two other troupe members that Tony recognized from his research, Gabe Jones and 'Dum Dum' Dugan were waiting with their own weapons already in hand. They didn't seem to have as much 'freedom' with the drug as Peggy was displaying, though Tony doubted that she was doing anything but simply following commands better rather than fighting the drug. Maybe she was just more susceptible?

The scientific part of his brain longed to ask about it, but the guns kept him from speaking up anything. That didn't stop his wild expressions though; he was highly unimpressed with both their actions and the _way_ they were trying to pull this off. As he was pushed in to a waiting steam-powered carriage, Tony just hoped that either Clint or Natasha had seen the whole thing and that Cap would make good on his promise to tell Loki that they'd come for him. At least JARVIS could still track him.

He pointedly ignored both his spectacles and singular cufflink the entire ride, fiddling with the blue necklace he was wearing instead and successfully distracting the rest of the passengers in the process. Thankful that they had at least thought to put their weapons away when they entered the cab, Tony eyed both Peggy and Dum Dum while Gabe drove the car to their destination. They were both what the images had shown, but no showman or trick rider was ever that expressionless unless forced to be.

Whoever was controlling them had designed the drug to suppress if not take away their emotions and personal reasoning or logical capabilities. They knew how to live, move, and take orders but that was about it. Yet, Peggy's hair was still moderately well-kept and Dum Dum's signature bowler hat was tipped rakishly on his head. Was it because they were still used in performances? Or did they actually come back to themselves every once in a while? Would he have the time to take advantage?

Tony studied them a bit longer, keeping their eyes on the medallion and his fingers, watching as Dum Dum's mouth moved as if whispering the instructions to himself. 'Retrieve Tony Stark. Take medallion. Bring back to Stuttgart base. Retrieve Tony Stark.' Over and over and over. But Stuttgart, if that was what the man really was saying... that was where the company was located according to JARVIS' research. Thinking on all of these things, Tony settled in to wait for their arrival to the base.

* * *

Back at the airship, a shrill whistle sounded from the top most floor followed by a cacophony of loud yowls from the cats that had just been roused from their slumber. Hurried footsteps clanked their way down the hall on the floor below before they clambered up the ladder and JARVIS' cameras watched as Bruce emerged from the opening moments later even as furious tapping started down one of the rows of cages. He ran to The Jag's cage where Dummy was clanging his leg against the outside of the bars to get his attention.

Panting slightly, Doctor Banner gave the bot a confused look, “What are you doing?”

The AI, watching remotely from his central location in the lab, deduced that the scientist was probably wondering what all the fuss was about as he had watched the construct get in and out of the cage many times in the past. Not only that, but the jaguar was seemingly content with both his position (sitting primly in the center of the cage) and Dummy's actions, simply giving a small yowl as the doctor looked the cat over.

Now that he was positive that he had the good doctor's attention, Dummy set off a complex series of whistle-clicks and hiss-clunks.

JARVIS looked on smugly a Doctor Banner, not having the experience Tony had with Dummy's pseudo-language, pushed a hand through his messy hair, clearly wondering what to do because he didn't know what the obviously emotional bot was trying to say. The AI knew that this wouldn't be the fastest way to get everyone together for the rescue attempt, they would just have to wait until Miss Romanova arrived with the cufflink.

He was surprised when the doctor brightened slightly as if remembering something. “Come on, bud. Let's go to the lab and see if JARVIS can't help us out a bit here, okay?”

The whistles that followed were ecstatic as the spider like robot sped around the scientist and down the ladder to their destination. JARVIS would have sighed if he were able, knowing that he wasn't going to hear the end of this as he watched the man (who was thankfully more clever than anticipated) take one last moment to look at The Jag. The cat was right next to the bars, surprising the man if his jump was anything to go by, and looking in the direction its friend had run off in before pointedly looking at the man then back to the ladder. The implication was clear, 'Well, what are you waiting here for? Get going.'

Doctor Banner jogged off after the bot who was now angrily whistling from the deck below. With the moderately sized robot urging him to go faster, the scientist made it to the supply-room-turned-lab in nearly no time at all. Turning the three knobs in the correct fashion, the doctor heaved a sigh of relief as the door clicked open. (Tony had a bad habit of changing the locks to mess with Loki without informing the beastmaster first and JARVIS wasn't allowed to open that door unless an 'administrator' to the system instructed him to.)

As the scientist finally made his way in, JARVIS addressed him immediately. “Welcome back, Doctor Banner. I am glad to see Dummy was able to lead you here as promised.” The construct gave a taunting whistle that sounded a lot like Tony's 'Told you so' as the man looked between one of the AI's camera's and the robot.

“Why did you need me here?”

His reply was immediate, JARVIS not about to ply around when his creator was on the line. “Because Anthony has been taken, Doctor Banner.”

“What?” JARVIS noted a rapid increase in the man's heart rate and breathing pattern before he visibly calmed himself. “By who? And how?”

“It was -” The AI was cut off by Loki as he swept in to the room with a fierce look on his face.

“By all of those we have been looking for, both the good and the bad.” Pulling up one of Tony's interfaces, the magician switched it on easily. “Show us where he is, JARVIS.”

The light flickered on as the AI readily obeyed. “Of course, Sir.”

A map of Germany and the bordering countries appeared on the glass surface, zooming in as two blinking dots joined the one indicating the airship's location. One was close, two points nearly overlapping, but the other was clearly miles away. It pulsed slightly as it drifted further away from their location just to the left of center, near Frankfurt, making its way southwest. “Judging by their current bearings, they seem to be taking him to Stuttgart, Sir.”

Bruce's curse was barely picked up by the microphones as he slammed his hands down on the table in front of him. “The Tesser Corporation is located in Stuttgart.”

Growling for a moment, the scientist calmed himself and frowned before looking back up to where Loki was rummaging through the workshop's drawers. “What are you doing?”

Loki simply leaned down a bit to get a better look at the inside of the dark container, “Putting together something for the journey.”

This clearly wasn't what the doctor was expecting and he sputtered for a moment. “Is this really the best time?”

Not waiting for the European to answer, JARVIS cut in, “He seems to be making me another interface for the search, Doctor.”

Shaking his head, Bruce fell back to the earlier conversation. “You said both good and bad. If that was the bad, then the good is...?”

As he looked up to inspect a few of his findings in a better light, Loki answered, “The good, which is also bad, is who exactly took him.” Green eyes slid over to Bruce. “And we now know where Bucky's Bucking Broncos went all those years ago.”

Eyes widening, the beastmaster stood up straighter in shock, “But, what about Steve? Does he know about this?”

Loki gave him a sharp nod before setting a few of the pieces aside and sifting through the drawer once again, “He was the one who told me that Anthony was taken, though he did not know it at the time.” He pulled out a few more seemingly random items as he grumbled, “That foolish, brilliant man. Always trying to speak in riddles and getting in trouble for it.”

The doctor clearly grasped the irony of the situation and JARVIS saw him smiling as the magician continued.

“Thankfully, I found Mister Rodgers before he found his old troupe mates. They were waiting with quite the welcome for him,” the magician was understating this, as the circus' cameras had seen that the two men who had met them there had greeted them with guns.

JARVIS was grateful that Natasha had been tailing the two of them and that the two men were sleeping it off in some of the great cats' empty cages. Focusing on that feed for a moment, the AI confirmed that Mister Rodgers was still keeping watch over them before he looked to where Miss Romanova was inspecting the area Anthony had been taken from for any further clues, her partner having left with the woman's pitch black horse long before.

Back in the lab, Doctor Banner waited for a moment as Loki picked up a screwdriver and started piecing the scraps together almost randomly. “And where are they now?”

Raising a brow slightly but not looking away from his work, Loki eventually answered after securing another screw in place. “They are now enjoying the upstairs amenities.”

That didn't seem to reassure the doctor in the slightest. As if sensing this, the magician continued, “Mister Rodgers is watching them and will administer your 'cure' as soon as he is able, but you are welcome to join him if you do not wish to come with me.”

Still looking distractedly up at the ceiling as if he would be able to catch any actions against his animals through the metal, the beastmaster replied, “Yeah, I think I-wait. Come with you where?”

Seemingly not caring that he was once again holding the other man's attention completely, Loki held up his nearly completed invention to the light and then close to his face for inspection before setting back to work. “After Anthony, of course.” He paused and JARVIS watched him look over at the shorter man, bristling. “You cannot possibly expect me to stay here while he is clearly in need of my assistance.”

Hands up in surrender, Doctor Banner took a step back at the usually composed man’s passion. “No, no. That's not what I meant at all. I was just surprised you were heading off by yourself.”

Loki turned back to his tinkering with a dignified snort. “Hardly. Thor will no doubt be catching wind of this excursion soon enough and, with the Hawk already out on the trail, the Widow will clearly be intent on following after him. Shortly, Madam Potts, her husband, and Mister Rhodes will all be brought up to speed and, based on their current situation, will most likely stay with the airship. Not to stay here, of course, but to follow us in the air.” His lips twitched humorously at the thought.

“Though, they will have the added challenge of trying to keep this rather flamboyant airship hidden in the sky.” Loki's hands gave another twist or two at a screw before tapping a loose bit of metal in to the proper shape. “That is even without the help Mister Rodgers or yourself could offer as well.” The magician smiled down at his now finished framing and moved to fit the glass inside.

Having been nodding along to the explanations behind the others joining, the doctor frowned as if only just realizing that he was still being offered a place on the rescue team. “Loki, you can't be serious about inviting me along. I might be a good scientist or even good with animals but I am in no way a good fighter or hunter.” He shook his head as the other turned to look at him. “No, I'll be more useful here: making more of the antidote, calming my cats, and watching over the afflicted as I worry.

“Besides, I don’t think that Steve would head out to help you if no one would be staying behind to watch his friends, especially when it took so long to find them in the first place.”

That decided; Bruce nodded at the magician and gave one last look at the satisfied looking robot that had lured him there before leaving the room before heading towards the upper deck once more, leaving Loki to work on his invention.

Jarvis and Dummy watched as Loki nodded absently at the faint ‘Good luck’ that echoed from down the hall and curled some copper wiring in an almost decorative fashion on the piece in his hands. The magician had mentioned many times that just because something was a quick piece didn’t mean that it couldn’t be fashionable as well as practical.

The man was almost finished with the last of the longer curves when JARVIS spoke up with some newly received information. “Miss Romanova has finished combing the area and will be bringing the cufflink that Anthony had dropped for us, Sir. She should be arriving shortly.”

Another nod acknowledged the notification as Loki finally installed the small power crystals on the sides of his invention, having been scavenged from the shattered remains of one of the prototype fakes that had been fashioned by Tony earlier that week.

The visor glowed green as Natasha slipped silently in to the lab, the magician trying it on to check for fit. Her eyebrow rose as he turned to her expectantly. “How did you get the glass to display green instead of Tony’s usual blue?”

The head piece was something the small-time engineer had been discussing with the ringmaster and the AIs of for a few months now, combining parts of Tony’s inventions to give the magician something similar to spectacles that the inventor always wore. It was a little more bulky, needing antenna or horn like protrusions to connect to JARVIS’ system properly, but Loki didn’t seem to mind the design.

He would later admit privately to JARVIS and his inventor that it reminded him of a helm he once owned as a child.

“The hue is determined by the angle that the light hits the glass which is simple enough to manipulate.” He tossed her a smirk as he moved his head back and forth, making sure it wouldn't fall off, “It is amazing what one can accomplish when they know how to exploit all the correct angles.”

Natasha cracked a smile at the pun, looking rueful as she did. The woman appreciated a more sophisticated type of humor but it was clear that after dealing with Clint for so long she had adjusted to it.

Getting back down to business, she twisted the cufflink through her fingers nimbly and jerked her chin slightly in the direction of the monitor that was still displaying Tony's current location. “Is that still current?”

Happy to finally be of use once more, JARVIS responded in Loki's stead as the magician started running the calibrations on his visor, “Of course, Miss Romanova.”

Her eyes flicked over the map for a moment then she commanded, “Bring up a topographical map as well.” 

A layout of the general terrain overlaid the map and the experienced woman started plotting where her partner was most likely to ride and hide as well as where their enemies might be taking Tony.

Finished with manual calibrations, Loki addressed the AI as well, “How is the connection, JARVIS?”

The glass flashed in front of his eyes as a complicated line of symbols and characters started scrolling while system wrote itself into the visor to JARVIS' satisfaction. “More than adequate and quite suitable for our needs, Sir.”

“Excellent.” Loki gave a satisfied smile.

“Sir, if you pull down the display, you can activate the proper model as before.”

Loki paused and turned a small, flat dial on one side of the eye wear to lower the volume then, as instructed, grabbed the edge of the display that Natasha was still examining. She watched with sharp eyes as the magician pulled it further away from the wall before pushing it flat above the table. A small button on the edge activated one of its more advanced features and the map pulled itself up off the glass to form a three dimensional model of the same size.

Reaching out, the magician used his finger to move the image a bit and show the other how it was supposed to work, before asking, “Who else knows?”

No stranger to multitasking, Natasha continued her examination at different angles as she listed those in the know. “Pepper, who has enlisted both Happy and Rhodey in the effort to pack up early, and Darcy who will no doubt inform Jane at an appropriate moment who will, in turn, let your brother know. He should be here shortly.”

Inspecting the map one last time, Loki turned away only to find a small version still hovering in his peripheral vision, information on a quietly watching Dummy popping up, and a compass scrolling along the top of his visor as it moved. The magician turned his head slightly as if trying to get used to the rotation and all of JARVIS' normal displays before grinning as the sound of pounding footsteps from down the hall got louder. “It looks like we will be able to put those plans to good use after all, Lady Romanova.”

Thor’s steps slowed as he reached the lab, still holding a few of the objects from his strong man booth that he had obviously been packing away when he'd heard of the kidnapping, and caught Natasha's response. “Hopefully not all of them.”

The large man made space for the acrobat as she made her way out the door, a bag in her hands, before looking at Loki. There was a proud yet expectant look in his eyes as he asked the tactician, “Brother, where would you have me for this battle?”

Listening to Dummy's hopeful whistles, JARVIS went through his logs and easily found occasions where Thor had relied on Loki to make countless plans, all of which were successful and felt hopeful.

The magician gave a sharp, vengeful smile. “Gather your horse and mine, if you will, Brother. We will be joining the ground team for this excursion. I will go fetch Mister Rodgers to join us.” Green eyes lingered on his brother's occupied hand as he advised, “Bring your hammer with you.”

Watching them go from his place near the wall, Dummy shifted as if wondering if he would be remembered or included. JARVIS, unimpressed with the bot's behavior, reminded it, “You were not to be included on any rescue missions, DUM-E.”

The construct whistled angrily, more at the use of his acronym than out of any true annoyance.

“Do not take that tone with me, Dynamic Universal Movements - Explorer! Anthony would not be happy to see you damaged in any way in his forced absence.” JARVIS couldn't let anything happen to the construct and not just because Tony asked him to. What kind of older sibling would he be if he let his younger brother go out into the battle field where he couldn't follow?

A boiling hiss was followed by a mocking set of beeps as Dummy moved to leave the lab, probably to sulk elsewhere in the airship, mood not improved by the repeated notification nor the use of his full designation. The metal door swung shut before he could reach it and the construct angrily stamped his legs in frustration as his optics met JARVIS' main camera.

“No, I do not believe you deserve to spend time with your beau after the way you have been acting. Anthony would be disappointed in you.”

The bot seemed to crumple in on itself at the mention of his creator, body nearly touching the ground as it gave a worried whistle-hiss. He curled in on himself for a moment as if trying to block out the world, his six legs folding in until he finally laid his body down with a sigh of his pistons.

Not even JARVIS could be completely unfeeling, especially not when he felt much the same. The doors lock clicked before it opened once more. “Oh, very well. Go take comfort with the one you love.”

Standing quickly, Dummy gave the camera another look as he gave a questioning series of beeps.

“Yes, I'm quite sure. You may wish to leave before I change my mind on the matter, however.” He wouldn't, but Dummy didn't need to know that.

That was all the warning the robot needed. He was out the door quick as a flash, the drumming of his legs against the hall's grating fading as Dummy ran to The Jag.

Had he been human, JARVIS would have sighed. Instead, he just turned his attention back to the map and the communications network he was building, focusing on getting their creator back.

* * *

Tony came out of his silent contemplation and opened his eyes as the carriage rolled to a stop, fingers finally dropping the medallion as he did so. Both of the passengers traveling with him blinked simultaneously and seemed to shake themselves slightly just in time for Gabe to swing open the door, gun in hand. 

Raising his hands once more to make it clear that he hadn't changed his mind about coming 'peacefully', Tony carefully stepped out of the transport and on to the rocky ground. He took a good look at the building that they had stopped in front of, turning his head to take it all in.

It wasn't a particularly strange place, obviously a building redesigned from a manor to be used as an office. It was located at the end of a long drive, designed to impress and to deter solicitors and unwanted guests like most structures built on the outskirts of major cities. The miniscule lenses beside the actual lenses of his glasses easily recorded everything, from the landmarks to the insignia on the door.

A prod from a gun barrel had the inventor stumbling in the direction of the door, but he found his feet easily shortly after and strode in like he owned the place, his face a mask of cool disinterest. Just because this backup plan had become the best one available (especially when he couldn't exactly fight back against Cap's mind controlled troupe when the antidote was so readily available) didn't mean that he had to _act_ belligerent or even scared.

He was confident that his crew was on the way.

The interior was much the same as the exterior, an open entryway that held a staircase to the second level and a couple of doors. Everything was familiar in the way that all centralized business locations of the time looked the same, the converted sitting rooms had been made in to offices, trying to be both professional and imposing while still welcoming enough to lure the prospective business partners into a false sense of security.

Tony had seen many places much like this one over the years but, given his current companions and the situation, the inventor started glancing around for anything unusual.

Eyes landing on a large bookshelf that was placed unobtrusively in the back corner of the room, Tony stopped his frown but couldn't help his unimpressed look as he inspected it. His general impression of the group was already low, but this? Didn't they have a bit more imagination? He rolled his eyes but kept quiet as they walked him towards the shelves, gun still at his back.

The clichés kept piling up as they pulled out two of the books, _A Tale of Two Cities_ and _A Christmas Carol_. Tony raised a brow as he realized that Mr. Unimaginative was a Dickens fan as well. The engineer couldn't fault the unknown 'inventor' (if copying every mystery novel _ever_ was called inventive) for enjoying the books, but the author had seemed pretty crazy the last time Tony'd met him - kept asking if he'd ever seen any ghosts, mediums, or aliens in his travels.

As expected, the bookshelf swung away from the wall to open a 'secret' passage leading down to a basement level.

Peggy lead the way down the stairs with Tony following shortly behind, Gabe and Dum Dum having stared creepily at him until he proceeded them, not even blinking as he made a face or two at them before complying.

At least two levels down from the main floor, the bewitched woman opened a door to a long barren hall, continuing the clichés as she brought him to an equally boring room.

Just as he was going to walk inside, following Peggy's waving hand, he was stopped. The woman's movements were becoming slightly jerky as if trying to do two very different things at the same time; one hand pushing and pulling at the door as if trying to keep it open and shut it simultaneously while the other patted spastically at the ringleader's chest.

Looking at the gunslinger's face, Tony realized that she was fighting the drug. She was fighting and seemed to be winning. 'So it does wear off.'

“G-get, g-go.” The British woman managed to force the two words out before a sharp voice barked an order from within the room.

“Take her back to the cell, Jones. We shall be taking it from here.”

Gabe's head rolled forward for a moment before it snapped back up and he grabbed the woman's arm with a new found purpose. He dragged her away even as Dum Dum pushed him in to what was obviously an interrogation room, his two questioners already waiting within.

Never one to take life _too_ seriously, especially when the people who had brought him here obviously wanted to see him shaking in his boots, Tony looked around the gray room and pointedly ignored the singular chair he was clearly meant to sit in. “You know, I thought your decorator upstairs was bad - I mean, really? A bookcase? A four year old could come up with something more interesting than that to use as a secret entrance - but you guys seriously out did yourselves down here.”

Turning his gaze to the duo that was standing opposite him, Tony relished the growing annoyance on the smaller man's face, more than happy to tick Laufey off even more than usual. The other wasn't so affected, standing with a calculating look and his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for him to finish. Well, Tony wasn't about to let that happen anytime soon if he could manage it.

“Perhaps you're all just colorblind and didn't notice that there is nothing down here but shades of gray?” He raised both brows and tilted his head to the side, “If that's the case, you might want to see about getting your money back, because it's not as nice as they told you. In fact that was a lie about 'Emperor’s New Clothes'-big that they sold you on, because this doesn't even have multiple shades or anything, just a real flat slate look. I've seen military bases with more character than this. Honestly, you must be on the same level as the common dog with this kind of sight impediment.”

Finally reaching the end of his short rope, the theater owner snapped, “Sit down, Mister Stark!”

He received a sharp look from his partner and an amused smirk from the man he was ordering around, but neither seemed surprised by his outburst. Seething as both his employer and their captive brushed him off, Laufey stormed forward to grab the engineer's shoulder and pushed him roughly into the chair.

Tony gave him a flat look for his trouble. “Well, you certainly have the patience of a small dog.”

Sitting forward, the inventor gave the twitching man a patronizing look of innocent fascination. “Hey, if I throw a ball, do you think you'd go fetch it for me? You do seem like you're used to taking orders from others; like you've been practicing your entire life, even.”

A growl answered him as the seedy man reached out to strangle Tony, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, fingers holding him painfully in place as he trembled with rage and a bit of fear.

Tony just raised a brow. “Oh, so that's why your buddy didn't seem the type to play fetch as well. He's not your puppy pal, he's your master! Probably the one who gave you that 'windfall' that you were talking about before. Did he also promise you extra to bring me to him? Cause those looks you started giving me before you left were pretty telling.”

Pulling his hireling away from the seated man, the taller man was still cool and collected as he remarked in a German accented English, “Very good, Mister Stark.”

If Tony hadn't been expecting something similarly off-putting from the man, he might have shut up, but instead he continued to toe the line. “Well, they don't call me a genius for nothing. How else would I know that you're the shadow power behind the Tesser Corporation, a mysterious man only consistently identified by that strange red skull you have monogrammed on your jackets?”

Releasing Laufey with a push, the taller man walked confidently forward to pick up the medallion at Tony's neck. “It is good to hear that my name is still a secret even from one as nosy as you, Mister Stark.” He inspected both the necklace and the faint look of panic that Tony tried to keep hidden before smiling and pulling it further away from the man's body.

Tony winced before he could stop himself, but raised his eyes to look defiantly at the smirking man. “Who says I was trying to find it? You just kept cropping up while I was looking over investment opportunities with the Corporation.”

“I see.” Gaze becoming a little less smug, the German man waited half a moment before standing up straight once more, pulling the medallion roughly over Tony's head as he did so. The inventor gasped slightly as the other continued inspecting the device more thoroughly as he stepped away.

Pressing his hands to his chest, Tony forced himself to calm down, evening his breathing as the pacemaker in his heart switched to the backup power stored inside of it and his heart started beating regularly.

Ignoring the pained groan from the man behind him and the annoyingly petty chuckles coming from Laufey's direction, the German held the power source up to a light fixture. He turned it in the light, seemingly enjoying the way it glowed or maybe the circular design inlaid on the outside before touching it to the light bulb. It grew impossibly bright before the glass shattered. The jumpy theater owner startled at the noise, but the German just smiled as he brushed the small shards from his skin.

“I'm amazed that even after capturing a few of our men you still wear this so brazenly. But,” he turned back to look at Tony who was glaring at him from the metal chair, too weak to think about standing anytime soon. “Perhaps you really can't go more than twelve hours without recharging the battery in your chest for at least an hour or so, as Mister Stane and our other contacts in your country had promised.”

The inventor sat up instinctively at the name before slouching forward again in pain.

“And, with those inventions of yours, you had to wear this for the performances.” He tried for a pitying look, but Tony found it too smug to be anything close to genuine. “Really, Mister Stark, for being a genius you are very _predictable_.”

Moving towards the door, he opened it to readmit Gabe into the room, a sinister looking needle clutched in his hand. “Which is why I won't even offer to let you join us willingly, for I am sure that you will simply refuse it.”

Tony spat on the man's shoes. “You've got that right. I'll never help you, you no-name bast-”

Any further acts of refusal were stopped by a gag at his mouth and a couple of strong hands holding him to the chair. Unable to do much more than glare, Tony narrowed his eyes at the German man as the needle was forced into his arm.

“That is why you were not given a choice in the matter, Mister Stark. Within the next hour you will never think another thought we do not tell you to have and you will answer only to me.

“Because you need to know who you will be taking your orders from for this to work properly, you may address me as Master Schmidt or Fuehrer Schmidt.” He then turned to his 'partner' who was still looking gleefully at the man who had insulted him, obviously enjoying his pained expression as he fought against the men still holding him.

A moment of tense silence passed between the kidnappers before Laufey noticed the taller man's gaze, but he somehow missed the frown the other was leveling at him.

“I cannot wait to see Victor's face when he hears that this _peasant_ thought of his bookcase design after he spent so much time gloating about it.” Rubbing his hands together, Laufey moved on to the next topic, sounding excited. “Just as planned, yes? Now, for the payment you still owe me.”

Eyes narrowing slightly as the corners of his mouth twitched into a horrifying smile, the German man grasped another needle and advanced on the greedy theater owner. “Yes. Let's see what I can do.”

Tony watched on, struggles growing fainter as Laufey belatedly realized what was coming. The smarmy man only had enough time to let out a single scream that was quickly silenced, his body hitting the floor moments later.

Wiping his gloved hands off on the fallen man's jacket, Schmidt looked back over as Tony's head rolled forward. The leader directed his next orders at the two holding the engineer in place. “Take him down to the holding cells until he is ready.”

Another round of order assimilation followed, both men's heads rolling forward before snapping back up. Hanging loosely in their grip, Tony winced slightly as the two large men grabbed him and practically carried him from the room.

They moved down another flight of stairs, past glassy eyed guards who mumbled about protections as the trio walked through the halls, eventually reaching a small room where Tony thought he saw Peggy before he was thrown to the floor. He closed his eyes and slept.

* * *

JARVIS had just informed them of Tony's arrival at his destination and measured them to be under two hours from the location by horseback when Thor moved to break the silence. Glancing down the path behind them to judge Steve's position, the strongman deemed him far enough away to at least politely ignore any parts of the conversation he might overhear.

“It has been a very long time since I have seen you this worked up, Brother.” He left it at that, an open invitation for Loki to explain.

Returning the look with a short one of his own, Loki was quick to turn back towards the path. His obvious worry was all that was an answer in itself, but Thor was still hoping that the magician would just come out and tell him. He'd suspected that there was more to the relationship between his brother and their employer than simple friendship, but he wanted to have more than just rumors.

Silence stretched between them as they navigated the dark path before Loki spoke. “He is mine, Thor.”

The blond was thankful that his chestnut gold mare was so well trained and more than able to continue down the path without his careful guidance as he released the reins in surprise, taken aback by the passionate ferocity in his brother's voice.

“These men will soon be taught the foolishness of their actions.”

Taking a moment to process this, Thor nodded. “And you will have my aid in doing so, Brother, as always. We will bring him back together.”

The slightest bit of tension released from Loki's shoulders as he realized, “You knew.”

Thor shook his head. “No, though I did suspect. I am not blind to the way you look at him nor he at you, but you have never taken kindly to those who make assumptions about you or your actions towards others. So I waited for you to tell me whether it was true or otherwise.” He picked up the reins once more as they hit a rough patch. “If it was important you would inform me of it, of that I have no doubt.”

Hanging his head slightly in remembrance of his past deeds, Thor continued a little softer, “I remember my past follies too clearly to so easily believe in suspicion and rumor.” It was not an error that the strongman wished to repeat, he had worked far too long and hard to ever lose the trust he'd had to fight to earn back.

As if hearing the pain in his voice, Loki finally turned his eyes away from the path the AI was supposedly displaying on the visor the magician had created to look him in the eye. Thor held that gaze as his brother studied him, their familiarity with horseback riding helping them to move with the horses as they continued at a brisk walk down the dusty country path.

It warmed him slightly to see just how much faith Loki must have in the whole troupe. He was obviously worried about his beloved, but was more than willing to keep in touch with those in the air as well as trust the Widow with the tracking while he addressed his brother.

“He is mine, Thor. And I will have him returned to me by any means necessary.” His declaration was a bit softer this time, but it had lost none of its ferocity.

Thor nodded, accepting both the relationship and Loki's warning; nothing was off limits when it came to protecting what was his. Currently that anger was directed at the terrorists, but it would switch to any that might come between them and the elder brother took note as Loki's eyes found the point he was following earlier and smiled.

Clearly seeing that the two brothers had finished their conversation, Steve picked up the pace a bit so that he could ask, “About how much further do we have? I don't like how hard we're pushing the horses.”

Eyes flicking to something the rest couldn't see on the inside of his visor, Loki answered, “Just over an hour until we-” The magician cut of abruptly with a frown. He brushed off their worried questions as he addressed the AI that was supposed to be leading them to Tony, “JARVIS?”

“The medallion that was boosting the signal was removed, Sir. I should be able to pick it up once it is within range of your headpiece. The final footage I received made it quite clear that they find him more useful alive then dead, Sir.”

Thor knew they all heard the 'for now' that was left unsaid before Loki instructed, “Inform Lady Romanova of this change at her next update.”

He then turned to his companions. “My apologies. We will be pushing the horses a little harder, Mister Rodgers.”

* * *

“Hey.”

Tony let his head roll with the small tap the hand at his cheek gave, scrunching his nose slightly as he did.

“Hey, Stark,” came the persistent voice once again, as the hand returned to try and prod him in to wakefulness. Well, now was as good a time as any. He gave a small groan before blearily blinking his eyes open to look at the concerned man squatted down next to him.

“Hey, you've been out of it longer than anyone else we've seen get introduced to this stuff. What'd they give you?”

Oh, well. That couldn't be good. He spoke up with a scratchy voice, “Sch-Schmidt.”

The man, who Tony now recognized as Bucky, gave a sigh and sat back on his heels. “I should have known that it would have already started having an effect. He's already had it for almost forty-five minutes now.”

Tony tried for a little more lucidity this time, “C-can Sc-Schmidt s-see?”

Leaning back in to hear the muttered, stilted question, Bucky just shook his head. “No, he doesn't have to.”

It wasn't hard to see the confusion in Tony's pinched brows so the trick rider explained, “All he has to do is ask us if we've done anything harmful or if we're planning anything the next time he puts us under, so there's no need for surveillance past some rather impressive locks and three floors of mindless guards between us and escape.”

Hearing this, Tony opened his eyes fully and sat up in with only the slightest of twinges from his chest. “Good, then we can get straight to business.”

The others in the cell stopped what they were doing to stare at him in shock, Peggy even letting a startled 'What?' slip past her lips before she could stop it. Tony enjoyed their looks peripherally (and it was good to see that the rest of those in the room didn't seem to be drugged now) as he worked his remaining cufflink off of his shirt, intensely grateful that many of his better inventions had been put together _after_ Stane had tried to kill him, and connected it to his spectacles.

“JARVIS, buddy? Can you hear me?”

The AI sounded slightly relieved over the internal speakers. “Yes, Sir. Loud and clear.” Tony grinned even as the rest of them obviously started to question his sanity, the voice not being broadcast to them as well so as to preserve energy. “Though we did lose contact for all time in between the removal of the medallion and your connection to the secondary transmitter to boost the signal, but all relevant data is now being uploaded as we speak.”

Rubbing his hands together as the plan finally came together, Tony smirked. “Excellent.” Looking around at the five now gathered around him, he identified each of them as the rest of the Broncos troupe, including the leader, the three from earlier and J-something-or-other. “So, is this everybody here or should we be expecting some controlled ones to march in shortly?”

Bucky glanced around at the rest of them before answering, “No, this is it. They only call us when they want to be sneaky.”

The engineer picked up on the hesitation and pinned the leader with a narrow-eyed stare, “'When they want to be sneaky', huh? What's so different about you guys?”

Another round of looks passed between the troupe-mates as Tony raised his brows at them like a parent waiting for their children to own up to their misbehavior. His mind paused for a moment at that and he inadvertently made a face at the simile. Eventually, they all seemed to come to a consensus and Peggy started the explanation.

“The reason why they came over to Britain and then further in to Europe was because they had been selected by one of your Colonel's selected them to help us on an undercover mission, where we would use their troupe as an excuse to travel Europe to investigate whatever the United States or Britain would ask us to.” She licked her lips slightly before continuing, “Steve Rodgers was one of the main reasons they were selected, but then that terrible accident happened and he had to be left behind.”

Surprised more by the choice rather than the revelation itself, Tony interrupted, “Cap? Why him?”

That brought a snicker from some of the troupe members as Bucky asked his own question. “He still wears that thing?” At the ringmaster's nod, the trick rider snorted. “We got him that because we knew we were going to leave the country, then he goes and wears it all over America. That guy...”

Peggy took over once more, answering Tony, “It was a lieutenant's suggestion; an Agent Coulson, I believe.”

Tony doubled over on himself as he tried to keep his laughter down to quiet guffaws; the guards might be dumb, but they probably weren't deaf. Pulling himself back together with a few deep breaths, hand on his chest as it stung from holding in his amusement, the inventor shook his head and motioned for her to continue.

“Sorry, I've just met the man before and he- he's just- anyway, continue.”

She did as requested after a moment’s consideration to who she was speaking to. “Very well.”

“During the training, we were all taught to resist mental manipulation, which is the only difference we can find between us and them.” At the last she gestured to the door, referring to the rest of those under the drug.

“We keep some of our training even under the influence, which benefits them greatly, but we also fight our way out over time, which makes us a liability. It is also why I am usually chosen first, seeing as I was trained to be an agent years before the rest were even chosen. My tolerance is higher and I am, therefore, more lucid while under their influence, but I also require a guard or two to stop me because it wears off faster. The others outside, on the other hand, can go from dose to dose, never leaving the commands of that contemptible man.” She looked furious at the thought.

“So that's why you were having that episode before I went in to the most boring room in all of existence.” Tony's brain was already moving on as Peggy cautiously nodded.

The genius was focused on trying to figure out where everyone would most likely be and wondering if Loki had given in and made that link up for himself like they had discussed. He couldn't wait to see what it might look like if the magician had caved.

Giving in to his curiosity and tapping the side of his tinted spectacles to bring up the rather rudimentary interface (the full heads up display could only be accessed with the extra power boost from his medallion), the inventor got to work.

“JARVIS, ETA and status updates. Where is everyone and how long will we have to wait before we can blow this Popsicle stand?” Not waiting for a reply, the genius started rifling through his pockets and tossed a small bottle to the other troupe's leader. “Take one each, it'll help combat any lingering effects of the drug.”

As the rest started passing the antidote around, JARVIS reported his findings. “Miss Romanova and Mister Barton are hidden just upstairs, waiting for the others to arrive, Sir.”

Tony frowned a bit, “Any particular reason they're waiting? I thought they were trained for this kind of stuff.”

The five that were gathered around him traded looks as Gabe handed Bruce's pills back over to Tony, all of them trying to make sense of the one side of the conversation they could hear.

“Miss Romanova does not want to risk setting off any alarms before, quote, 'the big guns get here', end quote. Mister Barton is enjoying himself by scaring all of the above ground workers.”

Giving a snort at the Hawk's typically childish pastimes, Tony then prompted, “And Loki?”

“Loki is currently entering radio distance as we speak and will be at the building within the next five to ten minutes, barring any unknown factors.”

The engineer was pleasantly surprised by this and smiled a bit fondly. “Patch him through when he gets on property and we can start this shindig off right.” He rubbed his goatee as he commented to himself, “Looks like my nap was just long enough.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Nap?”

James Montgomery Falsworth, Tony knew he could remember the name if he had enough time, cut off Dum Dum's incredulous question with his own, “And how exactly are you not one of the mindless drones right now, might I ask?”

Shaking the bottle that he was still holding, Tony explained, “These little beauties. Not only are they an antidote, they were designed to act as a preventative measure. Only side effect is furthered logical thinking, but I've never let that stop me before.”

“And why would you even have something like that?” Peggy asked, suspicious.

“Because some of the scientists were too awesome to consider the drug that you've already experienced to be a good thing and decided to jump ship. He came up with this antidote just in case the Tesser Corporation ever finished their project, but really, all he's been using it for before this was to help train his cats better.”

That just seemed to confuse them further and Gabe asked, “His... cats?”

“Well,” Tony allowed, “They are a _bit_ bigger than the normal house cat, but The Jag is almost smarter than Dummy now, which is saying something.”

Seeming to boggle at the thought, Dum Dum tried to get confirmation. “A _jaguar_?”

Unfortunately for him, it was at that time that JARVIS chimed in. “Sir, Loki is within the property line. Patching him through now.”

The inventor grinned and tilted his head to the side as he heard the line switch over to Loki's connection. “Hey, Sunshine.”

“Good evening, _Monsieur_. JARVIS was kind enough to inform me that you were sleeping whilst I was riding across Germany worrying about you. I do hope that you have good reason for it.” The voice sounded pleasant enough, but Tony still winced slightly, knowing that Loki was most dangerous when he hid his anger behind that mask.

“Of course! Can't go overthrowing an evil company without some rest. Well, that and the injection of that drug they gave me right before it, but mostly the former.”

“Anthony!” Even having a halfway suitable excuse wasn't going to help him this time Tony realized as he heard the group dismount and start making their way to the partially secured building. He sat quietly for a moment before Loki's agitated voice addressed someone on the other end. “This is not the time for games, Hawk.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony just hoped that Clint's grunted greeting was also an agreement. It wouldn't end well if he tried to tease the magician in his current mood.

“If you would, Lady.” Good, that meant that Natasha had the crazy Hawk in hand if nothing else. Tony's eyes traced the cracks in the floor as the creaking sound of the bookshelf moving out of the way filtered in through his earpiece.

There was a screech of abused metal shortly after and the ringmaster assumed that they had broken the mechanism to make sure it stayed open. Soon, he heard the group start to head down the previously hidden stairwell, hopefully ready for a fight.

“Lady Romanova and her Hawk should reach you shortly with your equipment, _Monsieur_.”

Finally looking up from where he had been staring at the floor, straining his ears to hear what was going on upstairs, Tony flashed a quick smile and nodded to the group that was looking somewhere between annoyed and hopeful. “Great, looks like we'll be getting out of here in no time.”

They smiled as Tony pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the door which dominated one of the walls.

A quick twist on the side of each lens on his spectacles released the lock picking tools he had stashed there and Tony set to work on cracking the ‘impressive’ lock. It was simple enough, though one twist in the middle was viscous, nearly breaking his half diamond pick before he changed the setting to the steeper angle instead of the original shallow he had suspected. But it opened shortly after that, Tony having designed and cracked locks twice as complicated as that while practicing for Loki.

Now with nothing better to do, the engineer started rapping out some of his plans for that night in his own version of Morse code on the open door to help Natasha locate them. The would-be spies behind him had no idea what he was saying, but Loki, who was still listening in from the other end, gave a low chuckle barely heard over the intermittent sounds of fighting (which usually ended in a large 'Oof' as the attacker was knocked out and tied up) as he translated it easily.

“Soon, _Monsieur_.”

Tony was nowhere near finished with his descriptions (and he was going to have _fun_ with the next part) when Natasha appeared in the doorway, stepping out of the nonexistent shadows of the hallway to hand him his bag with a raised brow.

He just gave her a grin as he heard gagging from down the hall, or was that through the air ducts? “Thanks, Tasha. You're a doll! I may just have to invite you to give up that Hawk and join us one night!”

Hearing the echo of Clint's outraged 'Hey! Watch it!' over the communications feed on his spectacles along with Loki's chuckle just made Tony's grin widen. There was a thudding sound of a knife sinking into the wall just beneath that velvety laugh as the magician continued to fight, probably pinning an attacker's clothing to the wall. The clang of the shield Tony'd designed for Cap nearly drowned out Loki's purred response.

“Whatever gave you the idea that I wanted to share you, _Monsieur_?”

A nearly stifled groan answered magician's question perfectly. Trying to drag his mind (and body) back to the task at hand, Tony opened the bag to find not only his armored gloves and one of his improved power sources (which he quickly slipped on with a sigh of relief), but also the boots that went with them.

The troupe behind him gave him some strange looks as, after handing out the guns he had stashed for any strays he thought he might find, he sat down and started changing. “Is that really necessary?”

“More than you realize, pony boy.”

Bucky made a face at the nickname as Tony shrugged in to the now permanently connected gloves before pulling the final wires from the thigh-high metal boots to connect into the chest piece.

Everything in place, he snapped the medallion into its slot before checking the movement in the joints and the charge time on the gloves. There wasn't enough room to fly in here, but a little extra protection for when the bullets started to fly was appreciated. “Alright, let's go.”

He stepped out in to the hall as JARVIS brought up the floor plans that Clint was plotting out on his romp through the service halls and ventilation system with the cufflink he'd taken from Natasha. “There seems to be a total of four floors, though only the one you are currently on and the lowest level have anything but a smattering of guards within.” The map zoomed in on Tony's current location. “Miss Romanova has been kind enough to clear this half of the floor before moving on. I advise that you use caution as you finish subduing the remaining drones on this floor before heading down to the labs below.”

The inventor started making his way down the hall to where the last of the targets would be located, “Alright, set repulsors to stun charge only, JARVIS. And remember,” he addressed the group following behind him with a look over his shoulder. “These guys aren't doing it on purpose, so don't shoot to kill. They _do_ eventually snap out of it.”

Tony then started making his way through the halls, listening with half an ear as Loki almost silently took out his opponents on the floor above. Judging by the dots that JARVIS had superimposed on top of the floor map, the magician was playing the quick distraction as the two heavy hitters with him took them down in a more nonlethal manner. The ringleader had sparred a few times with his other half a few times over the past months and had quickly learned that Loki was trained to go for the kill.

As he led the group to the next stairwell where Loki's group was going to meet up with theirs, Tony realized that the Widow had cleared out a whole lot more than half of the level that she had admitted to.

They passed another room full of knocked out and secured attackers (making sure they wouldn't be getting up again) covered in bruises and the ringmaster just rolled his eyes. The Bucking Broncos might be put off by the ruthless efficiency of the ex-assassin, but Tony knew she was mothering him.

Tony, for his part was playing it a little more cautiously than he normally would, peeking around corners before leading his ragtag group out into the next hall and checking each room they passed for hostiles, but that was more due to the fact that it had only just occurred to him that he'd never made a helmet go with the rest of his armor. A glaring flaw that he couldn't believe he had missed earlier. It would be rectified as soon as they got out of this... well, maybe the day after.

“This is a hell of a way to start a birthday.” Tony mumbled to himself, more than willing to count these small hours of the morning as part of his birthday. It was nothing to that one year that he had claimed an entire week as his own personal party week. 'That was a good year.'

His thoughts almost kept him from spotting the drones that were pacing the hallway next to them mechanically, obviously guarding the path to the stairs. Almost didn't mean completely, though.

Two whining pulses from his hands later and they were down for the count. Tony moved forward, one hand charged and pointing at any potential threats just in case another popped out of the woodwork as the troupe behind him followed with wide eyes and, in some cases, slackened jaws.

As Tony cleared the hall and the rooms that ran off of it, Bucky commented with an impressed tone, “You weren't joking about those, were you.”

The inventor gave him a serious look. “I never joke about my creations.” He tilted his head slightly as he revised that a bit, “I joke _with_ them, but never about them.”

JARVIS used this time to take advantage of the external speakers. “I do recall that one instance when you called Dummy a-”

Quickly cutting his AI off, Tony firmly reminded him, “Hey, we swore we would never speak of that again. For his sake.”

The troupe looked between themselves; each of them smiling slightly at the put upon voice spoke up once more. “Of course, Sir. For _him_.”

The next turn had them close enough to the others that the entire group could hear Thor's bellow as he crippled another opponent and they sped up to meet up with them.

“On your six,” Tony warned before firing into the fray, taking down an opponent that was trying to sneak up on Steve. It didn't take long for the skirmish to end with the nine of them working to take out the eight drones they'd found.

Relaxing as the last one was taken out, Tony called, “Hey, Cap. You'll never guess who I found.”

Steve looked up from where he was automatically restraining one of the drones only to freeze at the sight of his old troupe, mouth opening slightly before transforming into an amazed grin.

“Bucky, Gabe, Dum Dum, James!” He stood and quickly made his way over to hug his old friends, with much back slapping and gentle ribbing and even a blushing introduction for Peggy.

Tony only had a short moment to smile at that before he heard a set of familiar, firm footsteps walking in his direction.

“Don't you just love happy reunions, Sunshine?” Turning to give Loki a grin, Tony finally took in what his magician was wearing, “I'm loving that visor of yours, Dasher. Makes you look-”

He smiled into the kiss as Loki, after pushing his invention back so that it wouldn't interfere, silenced Tony in the engineer's favorite way. Carefully bringing his armored hands up to grip the magician's waist, the two pressed against each other in a mostly chaste kiss, reaffirming that the other was there.

Chaste was thrown out the window as Loki pressed in, wrapping an arm around the other man's shoulders and grabbing some of Tony's sleep mussed hair as leverage to deepen the kiss. Tony found this more than welcome, especially after his little bit of fun using Morse code over the speakers earlier, simply tightening his grip on the other's hips as he took the time to be thankful for this one thing as he turned another year older.

This year had Loki in it and that blew the rest out of the water.

A moment passed before Tony remembered who was watching and pulled back, shooting Loki a curious look before moving his attention to his brother. Loki's very large, hammer wielding, strongman brother who was (Tony breathed a sigh of relief) grinning at them.

Seeing that he had their attention, Thor walked over to clap the ringmaster on the shoulder, “I am happy for the both of you, Son of Howard! But I must warn you that if you harm him, I will be forced to remove your soul from this realm.”

The fact that it was all said without that happy expression faltering even once only made the threat scarier; it was a good thing Tony never planned on trying to hurt the European still standing between his hands. Nodding quickly at the blond, the ringleader was happy to see him move away to finish tying up the rest of the men and women lying on the floor. His eyes met Loki's amused green and Tony gave him a knowing look over the rims of his spectacles.

“You knew that was going to happen.”

“Suspected that it would happen sometime soon. He questioned me about my attachment to you during the ride.” Loki admitted, quietly as the others continued to swap the pertinent details from the last five years.

“And?” Tony had never been one to not indulge his curiosity.

Green eyes flashed possessively. “You are mine and no one will take you from me.”

A grin answered the quick reply. “Good, because I feel exactly the same, love.” The inventor pulled Loki in for another 'quick' kiss.

They finished just in time to hear a slightly embarrassed cough. Steve stood nearby, obviously trying to get their attention so that they could help the acrobats clear the floor below.

Grudgingly releasing Loki, the captive turned infiltrator began to walk towards the last stairwell. The group was met at the bottom by a completely composed Natasha, the floor filled with restrained people and an expectant look on her face.

“Well, you've certainly been busy.” Bucky had a talent for understatement.

Raising a brow at the flirtatious grin that the Broncos leader was shooting her, she clarified with a smile, “Yes. We have.”

The man flinched slightly as Hawkeye landed silently behind her from where he had been prowling around above, his face a blank, intimidating mask.

“Oh, uh. Good job, then,” Bucky stumbled over his words slightly as the other members of his troupe laughed good-naturedly at his expense, the group still a little high on the thought that they were finally escaping this hell.

The redhead returned her gaze to her employer. “There's just one room left and it's locked up tight. Looks to have a bit of your tech involved, thought you'd like to take a look at it before we broke down the door.”

Tony frowned at that. He didn't sell his more technologically heavy locks because that made his own inventions more secure. Giving her a small nod he simply said, “Show me where it is.”

Nodding back at him, the acrobat led the way down a random series of halls to a large metal door. Running a gloved hand down the door, Tony leaned over to inspect the lock more closely, thumbing a light on the side of his spectacles as he did. Judging by the glints of light he could see reflected off of the interior, the inventor was almost positive that, even if it wasn't his to begin with, it had been based off of one of his first attempts at a 'better lock'.

The gloves kept him from taking out his picks to try and verify that, so instead he turned to the magician standing behind him.

Loki, who had already been eying the lock himself, caught the look even as Tony's metal clad fingers lightly drummed on the lock before twisting one of his rings off. He ignored the quiet question that one of the Broncos muttered behind the two of them ('Does everyone here have lock picks?') and set to work on not only cracking the lock, but comparing it to Tony's other ones.

It took him barely thirty seconds before the tumblers fell open with a soft snick-click. Looking up at Tony, he nodded. It was definitely based on one of his designs, but someone had tried to 'improve' it with another set of pins and had in the process changed it from a wafer lock (which would require all pins to be in the right position at the same time) to the less complicated pin/tumbler lock.

“Not a very intelligent copy, however.”

Tony gave him a smirk in response. “They tried to copy off of me, Sunshine. I wouldn't classify that as smart in any type of situation, would you?”

A slow smile spread across the magician’s face, the message of 'I can think of a few' was plain as day to Tony, and the quirk of his brow let Loki know that they'd be trying those ideas out later.

If he'd been paying attention, the ringmaster might have realized that he'd just participated in one of those 'couple's conversations' that he'd been cursing for all these years. Instead, he offered Loki a hand before pulling the door open, ready to be done so he could get back to more important things.

Catching sight of what was awaiting them on the other side, Tony was quick to push Loki out of the doorway even as he threw himself in the other direction.

Steve burst through the rest of the group as he saw the large gun pointed at them, throwing his shield up to catch the blast as he did. It was just in time, the blue tinged energy backfired off of the metal and in to the back of the room where Schmidt didn't even flinch as it hit not a foot to the left of where he was standing.

Unfortunately, it also created a slight vacuum that was just strong enough to pull the door shut once more, the lock clicking back into place as it did. The German man sneered down at the ringmaster as he turned the weapon in his direction once again. “You think you can stop Hydra from rising now that we have your power source?”

Tony had just enough time to charge his boots before he was dodging a couple more quick blasts from the Death Ray, as he had taken to calling it in his head.

“You must be put down like the mad dog-!” The accented ranting cut off suddenly and Tony's increasingly outlandish maneuvers around his side of the room ground to a halt as Schmidt started screaming.

Glancing up at the weapon's wielder, Tony's eyes widened slightly. Flames licked their way up the collar of the insane man's signature coat, his face already blistering in the heat as his gloved fingers ripped the still burning knife from his shoulder and threw it aside.

Though the reinforced leather on his right shoulder still smoldered, Schmidt was able to quickly pat out the worst of the fire that had threatened to engulf him. He turned the high-tech weapon upon his attacker even as Loki ignited another knife with a quick spark from his rings, looking more than willing to try and burn the other man alive for his transgressions against both Tony and himself. The ringmaster, however, wasn't just going to wait idly by as his magician stared death in the face.

Boots charging as he braced his legs, Tony launched himself halfway across the room to tackle the criminal from the side.

Still blinded by pain and rage, Schmidt cried out once more as he was pushed to the ground harshly, the gun swinging up to discharge harmlessly into the thick ceiling. Shoving the odious man behind some useless looking machinery, the inventor rolled the worthless contraption closer to the wall to trap Schmidt while he dealt with dismantling the gun.

Before he did, Tony took a moment to give Loki a quick once-over to check him (out) for wounds. “You okay?”

The magician looked up after cutting away the last of the still burning, accelerant-soaked strips of cloth from his knife and gave him a sharp smile. “Far better than he will ever be again.” He didn't sound sorry in the least and, after all that Schmidt had done to (Loki, to Tony, to Steve's troupe) everyone, Tony allowed a darkly amused smile to cross his face in return.

Then, remembering the still primed weapon next to him, the engineer set to work on rewiring the nearly fried connectors as Loki eyed the door for a moment. Tony thought he could see his green eyes narrow for a moment before the magician turned away from the entrance to look over his shoulder as he worked on the unfamiliar technology.

One hand stretched away to safely toy with a throwing knife, Loki leaned his chin on Tony's shoulder as his other hand settled casually at his waist.

Attempting to focus on the machinery in front of him, Tony paused to blink as the object of his distraction leaned in closer, an arm coming forward to work the edge of a knife blade under a loose panel. The metal bent under the assault, the 'V' symbol beneath it becoming clearer as it was removed. Tony inspected it for a moment, trying to remember where he'd seen the symbol, before turning back to the task at hand and leaving the mysterious insignia to his intrigued magician.

He had just finished his last adjustment as the door clicked open once more, Natasha rolling her eyes from her kneeling position in front of the lock as Clint looked particularly huffy.

Hawkeye ignored Loki's amused grin and Tony's questioning brow as he stalked into the room and away from the relieved (and ever so slightly amused) group. Working it out quickly, the inventor taunted with a grin, “Having a bit of trouble with the lock there, Hawk?”

The grumbles in reply only made him laugh.

His amusement didn't last long, however, as the large metal cabinet slammed in to both Loki and him from behind, sending them to the ground. Schmidt rose shakily from where he had thrown it at the pair and made a dash for the Death Ray.

“Hydra will never be stopped! Not with this weapon and the support of V-” The medallion charging the weapon glowed bright blue from the feedback loop Tony had created and the ensuing explosion knocked the ranting man back in to the wall.

Tony looked up from where he was attempting to shield Loki from the blast (made even more difficult by the magician's attempts to do the same for him) and found Clint already restraining the unconscious man as the others rushed in to make sure everyone was alright.

Brushing them off as he accepted the magician's helpful hand up from his position on the floor, Tony took another look at the smoking gun. It hadn't broken to pieces, but the explosion had thoroughly melted the inside.

'Well, that would definitely be enough to make sure no one else would be trying to make this.' Satisfied with that, Tony called out instructions to his AI. “JARVIS, let everyone know that it's all over, then ring up the local police. I'm sure that they would be overjoyed to see where all those missing people have been hiding all these years.”

“Yes, Sir. Miss Potts would like me to inform you that Mister Rodgers' friends have woken up in their correct state of mind. She would also like me to inform you that she will be having words with you about your recent lapse in rational decision making.”

The engineer, in the middle of shooting a thumbs up to Cap, winced at the reminder of the number of mother hens that he currently had on his payroll. He glowered slightly at Loki's knowing grin, “Hey, she's going to be after you too, Sunshine. Remember whose idea this was in the first place.”

The other didn't look as scared as the ringleader thought he should be. Then again, Loki had quite the record for coming out on top.

Tony licked his lips before addressing the others, “Cops are now on their way, so let's start cleaning up.”

Running a hand through his hair as Steve give his old troupe-mates some of Bruce's antidote to start passing out to the restrained men, Tony frowned and realized that the grumbling wasn't coming from his tired and disgruntled workers but his stomach.

“Anyone else think that we should pick up breakfast on the way? I've always wanted to try German chocolate rum balls.”

* * *

A few tiring hours later, Tony was finally where he wanted to be: in his bed with Loki seated to his right as they watched the sun rise over Stuttgart through a few well-placed portholes, a half-eaten plate of rumkugeln resting on a side table nearby.

Well, not completely how he wanted to be, that required fewer clothes and more activity, but he would settle with this for now. Instead, he relaxed against the other man, toying with the strings on his tunic as he blinked sleepily at the view.

“You are not to ever do something like that again,” Loki ordered quietly into the engineer's hair.

Rousing himself from the drowsy state his mind had slipped into, Tony tilted his head away to look at him as he tried to get clarification. “Do what, Sunshine?”

Green eyes closed against the brightening sun, the other murmured back, “Let yourself be kidnapped or go off alone where I might not find you.” Tony's fingers stilled.

“Loki, you were the one to make this plan in the first place.”

Humming his agreement, Loki countered, “It was a foolish plan and I will do well to never create another like it.”

The ringmaster sat up a little straighter to look at his magician incredulously. “But it was a complete success! Finding the Bucking Broncos, using my dad's palladium version of the medallion to mess with anything they might be needing it for, shutting down the Tesser activities in Europe, even catching Schmidt who was pulling the strings! Though, I don't know about that V thing t-” He was silenced when long fingers brushed over his lips.

“That does not prevent this from being my most foolish plan to date.” Those same fingers then moved to trace the line of his jaw back until it found its place at the back of the inventor's neck. Tony leaned into his touch, allowing his left hand to skim down Loki's chest and loosely grasp the other man's opposite hip as he shifted to face the magician fully.

“Why then? What made this a bad plan if it accomplished nearly all our goals?”

There was a pause as green eyes studied the ringleader's face, Loki's hand slipping away from Tony's neck to trail gracefully down his bare chest to play absently with the medallion that resided there as he debated whether to answer.

Watching as the other glanced down at the inverted triangle on the device, Tony reached up with his right hand to grasp the magicians. “Or, if you'd prefer, why did you set it as the backup and not the main plan if you knew it would be this successful?”

Releasing the power source, Loki let it drop back into place as he turned his hand in the ringleader's and easily changed their grip. Tony let the questions hang, the thumb of his free hand playing with the hem of the other man's tunic even as the magician held his right hand between both of his.

Not looking up from his idle inspection of that callused hand, Loki responded. “The plan was far too risky. There were too many variables, too many ways in which they might harm you, kill you even.”

Loki looked upset at the very thought, his narrowed eyes moving over the lines on Tony's hand as if thinking of all the ways the past night could have gone wrong. An upset Loki was not something Tony ever wanted (unless they were teasing one another or pranking each other or arguing just for the hell of it or - well, not over anything this serious at least) and he tried to fix that by rolling slightly to throw his leg over the magician's, shifting so that he was straddling the other man's lap.

Eyes flicking up to Tony's face at the movement, Loki relaxed a little as if only just realizing that the danger he was thinking of had already passed. Holding that gaze, the ringmaster leaned forward ever so slightly.

“But it didn't. I'm still here and everything worked out fine.” Fingers tightened around his still captured hand, but Loki didn't look away as Tony pressed further, concerned. “That might be why it was the backup, but why is it currently your worst plan if it came together beautifully?”

The response was almost immediate, as if the magician had been thinking on it or wanting to say it for quite some time.

“Because any plan that puts you in danger is a foolish plan, especially when I am not there to fight alongside you.” He freed his left hand from their entangled fingers only to slip them past Tony's jaw, behind his ear into his hair, leaving his thumb to stroke the enraptured man's cheek. “I did not realize it then, but I know now that I would always have you by my side.”

Tony's heart thudded in a way that had nothing to do with the abuse it had taken earlier that morning as the genius' mind halted all side projects to focus completely on what Loki had just said to him. If it had been a woman saying those words, the ringleader was sure it would be considered a marriage proposal. If it had been a woman, Tony would have said no. From Loki however, the inventor could only think of one response and it came pouring out as his brain jump-started his mouth.

“Then that's where I'll be. As long as you want me there.”

Finally freeing the engineer's hand, Loki grasped Tony's arm even as the magician's left hand took advantage of its fortuitous positioning to pull the other in for a passionate kiss. Tony groaned slightly, opening his mouth for the other as his hands pushed Loki's shirt out of the way to explore Loki's chest once more.

No stranger to multitasking, Loki slowly raked his blunted fingernails down Tony's arm as he tasted the other's palate.

Easily following the planes of the magician's body, Tony leaned in to the kiss as his hands found a few of their favorite places; one pressed against Loki's spine, trailing up and down along the arch of his back, while the other hiked the front of that green tunic up to thumb a sensitive nipple.

With a slightly frustrated groan and a mumble about how he was not going to be undone so easily, Loki pulled roughly at Tony's hair, repositioning the engineer to provide easy access to his neck.

Before moving to start leaving open mouthed kisses as he had many times before in similar situations, Loki paused, mouth next to Tony's ear as he panted ever so slightly. Calming his breaths even as the ringmaster's hands continued moving, he eventually purred his response to the other, voice so low that only Tony (his spectacles discarded near the rum balls) could hear his promise.

“Forever. I would have you by my side forever.”

Tony breathed in sharply through his nose at the unrestrained passion he heard there, nearly cracking the other's voice as he spoke the words, and it took him a moment to gather his wits. For once ignoring the tongue that was pressed against his pulse point, Tony abandoned his earlier pursuits and wrapped his arms around Loki, pulling him into a tight hug.

Thankfully, Loki simply arranged his arms around Tony's neck to return the embrace, seemingly understanding Tony's need to not only reassure himself that this was real (it had been a very long day, who's to say he hadn't nodded off?) but also to impress upon the European that the feeling was completely mutual.

Forever seemed like it might just be enough time, but they could always try to negotiate more time later.

For now, though, Tony just breathed in the scent of Loki's still slightly dampened hair, each of them having taken a bath after their rather dusty ordeal earlier that morning, and reversed their earlier actions. Weaving his own fingers through those black strands, the ringleader turned his head to nip gently at the other man's neck even as his other hand followed that graceful spine down, fingertips easily slipping beneath the waistband of Loki's dark casual slacks. He smirked for a moment at the hiss his actions pulled from the other before pulling back slightly to start working on disrobing the man beneath him.

Arching his back slightly with an answering smirk, the magician's fingers trailed playful patterns down Tony's shoulders and Loki chuckled slightly at his frustrated growls as he remembered just how difficult it would be to pull the clothing off in their current position. Hands reaching the engineer's elbows, Loki sat forward to capture Tony's lips with his own once again.

Distracted by that masterful tongue, the ringleader barely noticed the magician's light fingers undoing the ties on his pants. He did notice when the hand returned to his elbow and gripped both of his arms securely. Already knowing where this was going when Loki pulled back with a smirk, Tony tried to shift his weight onto his knees to keep his advantage.

“I may be able to assist you with that, _Monsieur_.” Loki purred, licking his lips slightly.

The preparations did nothing to help as the magician bucked slightly, possibly alluding to something else he might be willing to help with as he rubbed against Tony's manhood provocatively before using his distraction to roll them over. Feeling his back hit the comfortable bed, the ringmaster gave a halfhearted struggle to try and continue the roll, hopefully placing him back on the other's lap, but gave in with a groan as Loki pulled his arms above his head and silenced his protests with a rather filthy, open mouthed kiss.

Tongues still battling for dominance, Tony fought to bring his hands back down, wanting to at least touch the man who was kneeling above him. But the other was even going so far as to keep himself balanced on his elbows while he pinned the inventor's arms down by the elbows and all Tony could reach was Loki's head and possibly his shoulders.

Tony took what he could get, running his fingers through the magician's hair and attempting to guide the kiss while he could. He knew that, if given the chance, his hands would be tied to the nearest bedpost as they had on more than one occasion in the past. Throwing their ties to the other side of the room was now a tactic Tony employed to make sure his hands stayed free more often, not that it always worked.

Still enjoying the almost frantic meeting of tongue and teeth, Tony couldn't think of one reason to not try and press every advantage he might still have and brought one leg up to hook around Loki's waist. He quickly used the other to push himself up and he couldn't keep from smiling at his success even as they both groaned at the contact, each of their still clothed erections rubbing against the other’s as Tony pressed his hips upwards. Loki's hips rock forward instinctively at the delicious friction before the magician reined it in.

Giving one last nip at Tony's swollen bottom lip, Loki pushed himself back on to his knees to pull his rather mussed tunic off. Now free from the other's grasp, Tony sat up a bit to lean on his elbows, enjoying the view immensely as the magician tossed his shirt to the other side of the large bed and, green eyes locked with the flushed man beneath him, ran a hand down his now bare chest to start slowly unbuttoning his slacks.

The pace was unbearable, Tony knew there was absolutely no way it usually took that long to undo a simple set of buttons (in fact, he was pretty sure that Loki could probably unfasten each of the inventor's pants in about three seconds flat, if pressed), but distracted himself nicely by sitting up and running first his fingers and then his tongue along the lines of the magician's chest.

Unfortunately, this also distracted the kneeling man as well, slowing the process even further as Loki abandoned the buttons to sit back on his heels, bringing him to Tony's level once again before he tilted the ringmaster's head to one side and plundered his willing mouth once again.

And that was more than alright with Tony. They had all the time they would need for fighting and kissing, for inventions and pranks, for performing and loving. Tony didn't think he could have asked for anything better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does ending here make me more or less of a tease than before?
> 
> That's the end of this fun little (Ahaha, little! This is the longest story I've ever written!) AU, I hope you've all enjoyed the ride! :D I did leave just a few story lines with a loose end or two for if or when I get the urge to write more in this universe, but I don't plan on continuing it anytime soon.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, and/or leaving a kudos! You are all wonderful! ♥


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